How do we know if change is happening? In this episode, we explore the concept of leading indicators as the best guide for recognizing and making change. Lagging indicators (e.g., has participation broadened?) are the product of complex formulas; leading indicators help us derive those formulas - a different and more robust way of achieving success.

Leadership for broadening participation at its best is rooted in a commitment to one’s own learning, growth, and humanity - and from that place we are able to help other people and our institutions become their better selves, making real change. In this episode, Kelly sets this as the standard and Jason roots this commitment in the foundational assumptions of education.

Code switching is typically thought of as the capacity to make strategic use of one’s identity by alternating use of two or more languages, appearances, or behaviors in a single interaction, often with an emphasis on surviving in a dominant culture. But for leaders of broadening participation efforts, code switching is also something more: a strategy for making change.

How is one’s identity relevant to leadership in broadening participation? In this episode, Mary, Darrin, Wendy, Grady, and Eric talk about the contexts for identity, the ways we navigate the internal and external experiences of our identities, the topic of cultural competence as a moderator of identity, the ways that identity changes over time, and the strategic considerations associated with identity.

The previous episodes have focused a lot on the act and skill of listening - to others and to oneself. This episode and the ones to follow explore what leaders do with what they have gained from listening. In this episode, we focus on how we build bridges between ourselves and others, between communities, and between what is true today, and what is possible tomorrow.

Authenticity and authentic leadership are critical to broadening participation efforts; you can’t lead inclusively if you’re not including yourself. This episode explores how to find the courage to navigate the risks that come with being truly authentic, and how to use that language to encourage others to be their authentic selves.

Again and again, our leaders emphasized the capacity to listen to difference and give people the benefit of the doubt as a key skill in leading broadening participation. In this episode, our interviews with our broadening participation leaders point to how this skill set might be called “be the cousin.”

This episode focuses on origin stories from 6 of our leaders. While these are individual stories, together they represent the source waters from which leadership for broadening participation emerges. Knowing our origin stories helps us understand who we are and what we have to offer and informs our capacity to listen to the experiences of others.

In this introductory episode, we introduce NSF GOLD, the concept of “broadening participation,” the relevance of leadership in this arena, and the nine GOLD project leaders who were interviewed for this podcast.