Women Higher Education Administrators: Approaches to Leadership in Times of Crisis

Introduction

The year 2020 brought crises in health, economy, government, education, and social justice with effects scaling from the local citizen to the global community. One emerging narrative centers on the role of women leaders in responding to crises at the local, national, and international levels. Political leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Jacinda Ardern, and Angela Merkel have been highlighted not just for their work, but for their work as women (Friedman, 2020; Taub, 2020; Tumulty, 2020; Wittenberg-Cox, 2020). Media headlines such as “Why are women-led nations doing better with COVID-19?” (Taub, 2020), “Are women leaders better at fighting coronavirus? It’s complicated” (North, 2020), and “Research: Women are better leaders during a crisis” (Zenger & Folkman, 2020) show the prominence of gender and leadership considerations in coverage of crisis responses.

As this chapter examines the experiences and behaviors of women leaders in higher education administration, there is a salience and timeliness to the examples provided by women global leaders. Their behaviors suggested a reliance on adaptation—a willingness to anticipate and respond to short- and long-term needs in times of crisis. These approaches can be seen in response to both the more technical leadership challenges (e.g., establishing public health mandates to minimize risk) and the adaptive challenges for which there are no known or immediate solutions, but which require the engagement of followers to find a solution (e.g., minimizing fear and discord in times of risk, frustration, and inequity). A review of the literature identified adaptive leadership as a theory that would direct the research efforts of this chapter.

The emerging narrative about women leaders in times of crisis emphasizes a merging of skills and competencies, a reliance on differing viewpoints working toward a collective goal, and an ability and willingness to adapt quickly as new knowledge surfaces. Adaption is paramount to organizational success and thriving (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). There is no research as of yet that has explored whether women take an adaptive approach in their leadership, particularly in times of crisis. Recent comparisons between men’s and women’s leadership undergird the elevation of women as effective leaders in crises due to the perceived utility of leadership traits typically ascribed to women in challenging circumstances. Specifically, researchers have suggested that women leaders are more task-oriented and transformational in relation to counterparts who are men (Eagly & Carli, 2007; Stott, 2013; Winters, 2012). The need to shift, if not change, amidst uncertainty and distress, warrants a more in-depth inquiry into women’s leadership in times of crisis. Particularly, research about whether adaptive leadership in challenging times contributes to women’s effectiveness would be of value.