the uplift

As provost and faculty member in Leadership Studies at Fort Hays State University, Jill Arensdorf believes democracy is a creative practice that calls for situational and contextual awarenss as folks move together toward a shared goal. As a leader, Jill has "a lot of faith and hope in people," which she expresses both through her leadership practice and through her commitment to civic engagement as she helps prepare FHSU students for rich lives of community and civic participation in service of larger democratic principles. Come learn about Fort Hays State University's Civic Investment Plan, a complement to their strategic plan that helps ensure all students -- whether they are located in Kansas, throughout the US, or around the world -- understand how to bring civic awareness to service for their communities.

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

A medical anthropologist by training, Susi Keefe approaches her teaching, like her research, by focusing on people and their stories. In this episode of The Uplift Susi tackles the "bodacious question" of whether teaching public health can model democratic citizenship. She shares stories about her students claiming their identities while learning to advocate for community public health...and discovering themselves as leaders along the way. Susi also discusses teaching evals -- and if you stick around, you can catch her rowdy dog Tater making his first podcast appearance. 

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

"Changing the world - changing the civic existence - is completely central to what Dominican University does." 

At Dominican University of California, the majority-women leadership team models communal leadership, mutual support, authenticity, and bravery. President Pitchford is willing to say even the hard things...perhaps especially the hard things, for as she reminds us, education is political, and requires opening up and speaking out.

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

Colleges and universities can "teach the art and science of a liberal democracy" -- not just in the what and how we teach, but also in how we model governance and participation. This month on The Uplift we're exploring what women leaders believe this can mean on their college campuses. In today's episode I describe why I have a deep personal investment in this question. 

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

In this final episode of our "back to school" theme for September, I encourage you to take a fresh look at caring for yourself. I redefine self-care as intentional life-sustaining practices that protect well-being, enhance overall health, increase happiness, and promote empowerment, and, for women leaders in higher ed, also produce vitality by making space for curiosity and purpose. I offer suggestions for how to infuse your daily activities with this notion of caring for yourself. Special shout outs to Rebecca Pope-Ruark and her new book, Unraveling Faculty Burnout, as well as the FREE "Tiny Sabbatical Project" with Shelly Roder and Sarah Moore-Nokes. 

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

What is going on with quiet quitting, burnout, and quiet firing on college campuses? This episode explores them through the Marxist idea of alienation from our labor. I suggest that alienation is a natural outcome of systemic accretion: the ongoing increase of small tasks and assignments that seem individually manageable but taken together become impossible. It's easy to see how this could contribute to disengagement and burnout. I also wonder aloud whether institutions that engage in habitual systemic accretion might be unintentionally "quiet firing" their people by giving them work that is designed to leave them feeling undervalued and unwanted. Luckily there's an alternative and potential solution for leaders: strengthening the connection between people's purpose and their work. 

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

"The power to trust and be trusted is an essential prerequisite to enhancing the department climate." Mary Lou Higgerson wrote that 26 years ago, and it's as true now as ever before. 

From "Soulless Opening Year Academic Speeches" to "Calling it Quits" to "Why 2022 is the Year of Workplace Culture," US employees are yearning for inspiring leadership that fosters a vibrant culture at work. How to get there seems elusive, and so we spend time and money on surveys, 3rd party vendors, and expensive consultants to help us through. 

A large body of research is clear, though, that trust is the key to unlocking a healthy work environment: one that celebrates growth, coaches mistakes, and doesn't resort to fear, shame, or retaliation. This is not some made-up fantasy: I have lived and led in environments like this, and you can too. In this episode I share my favorite strategies, proven over more than 10 years of experimentation, for infusing your leadership with deep and rewarding trust. 

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

In the US we host approximately 55 million work-related meetings a week. 71% are considered unproductive by attendees, and 65% of employees agree that meetings prevent them from completing their own work. This is expensive, and soul-crushing, and I think we should knock it off.  

Wanna kick "meeting malaise" to the curb on your campus? In today's episode I talk about the differences between traditional meetings and meaningful gatherings, and list four steps you can take to change how you lead meetings in order to infuse them with clarity, purpose, and joy. Not only can you become the person on campus who runs meetings people enjoy attending, but you'll benefit from stronger relationships with your colleagues as a result.

Spoiler: I'm still fan-girling Priya Parker's book The Art of Gathering and share a link to a free guide she wrote to help you make the most of your gatherings. And I'm totally inspired by the podcast episode where Priya helps Brene re-imagine one of her work meetings. Because you *know* if Brene needs the help, then we probably do too.

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

I've been thinking about Priya Parker's book The Art of Gathering and what it can teach us about creating the BEST FIRST DAY EVER! -- both for our students on the first day of a new semester, and for new colleagues on their first day as members of our teams.  

I combine Parker's wisdom with advice from my colleagues and a sprinkling of my own experiences, and distill it all into  four easy guidelines with more than 20 actionable steps you can take. As always, I link to extra resources for you in the shownotes. 

This episode is meant to be a useful resource as we enter back to school season and think about welcoming a whole bunch of new people into our teaching and leadership lives.  Enjoy!

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡

Here's a peek at Getting Clear on Purpose: Module Three of The Leadership Academy.

This module explores *mindset* and *intentions*, which are as imporant as *goals* to your leadership practice. In this module I'll also teach you actionable strategies for making space for *all* that, AND abundance, in your overly full work calendar.

Get a glimpse into how the module is organized and learn why I want YOUR NAME on the waitlist for The Leadership Academy. 🧡

Let's connect! Come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

I also coach women leaders (individually and in groups) and facilitate campus workshops. Learn more at the website.

Have a question about whether I can help you? Just ask! I actually love getting emails from listeners. 🧡