It took me years to develop a leadership philosophy that truly felt authentic. The breakthrough came when preparing my dossier for the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. A colleague challenged me to deeply reflect on my understanding of leadership, prompting me to reconnect with the co-active leadership model I’d encountered in earlier training. In that moment, everything clicked.

The revelation was transformative: educational leadership isn’t confined to specific roles, positions, or titles—anyone can be an educational leader. As Kimsey-House and Kimsey-House (2021) describe it, co-active leadership is “being together in action” (p. 17), where people lead from five distinct dimensions: beside, behind, the front, the field, and always from within. This multidimensional framework has fundamentally shaped my approach to leadership, teaching, and innovation.

Leading from Beside: The Power of Collaboration

Leading from beside embodies collaboration—creating synergy, leveraging strengths, and building shared vision. This dimension resonates most deeply with me, bringing immense joy to my work. I thrive on the collective energy that emerges when groups unite around common goals.

This philosophy manifests in my classroom design, where team-based learning consistently demonstrates that collaborative teams outperform even the most exceptional individuals. My educational leadership initiatives reflect this collaborative spirit:

• Co-leading a comprehensive initiative to modernize the Biological Sciences curriculum
• Partnering with colleagues to launch an Indigenous pathways course
• Collaborating on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects
• Engaging students as partners through class representatives

Leading from Behind: Serving and Supporting Others

Leading from behind centers on service and support—an approach I embrace both in the classroom and with colleagues. This dimension of my leadership is compassionate, human-centered, and focused on connection and care.

As a behind-the-scenes leader, I enable connection, develop capacity, champion success, and support the wellbeing of our campus community. My actions demonstrate a deep belief in others’ leadership capabilities:

• Co-developing a Resilient Academic program to support student success
• Integrating student peer mentors into my classroom as leaders for their peers
• Leading the Faculty of Science curricular peer mentoring network
• Supporting instructors in redesigning courses with innovative approaches

Leading from the Front: Providing Direction and Purpose

Leading from the front involves articulating clear direction and purpose while maintaining human connection. In educational contexts, this means challenging institutional norms, influencing priorities, and leveraging one’s position to create more inclusive learning environments.

While this dimension has challenged me most, I’ve stepped into front-facing leadership by:

• Creating a vision for an undergraduate research initiative that enhances teaching quality
• Auditing programs through an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion lens
• Leading institutional programming initiatives
• Developing resources to support faculty teaching excellence
• Communicating our teaching and learning initiatives across the campus community

Leading from the Field: Embracing Innovation and Creativity

Field leadership requires seeing the big picture and embracing innovation. For me, this means identifying opportunities, reimagining higher education, and transcending traditional university models.

My creative leadership in this dimension includes:

• Launching micro-credentials to prepare students for research opportunities
• Producing and publishing engaging teaching materials
• Adopting and sharing innovative approaches like specifications grading and course-based research experiences

Leading from Within: Authenticity and Self-Awareness

The foundation of all leadership dimensions is leading from within—practicing self-awareness, authenticity, and value alignment. This internal leadership forms the bedrock of my practice, as I remain conscious of how my emotional wellbeing impacts those around me.

In the Peer Mentoring course I teach, we explore “Teaching with Heart and Soul” (Palmer, 2003), a philosophy I integrate into my leadership through intentional reflection. My weekly review practice examines what worked well, what didn’t, and where my actions aligned with my values—embodying the lifelong learning journey of self-examination.

The Path Forward

As my leadership journey continues, I aim to develop greater discernment in recognizing what leadership dimension is needed in each moment. This means knowing when to provide direction and when to step back, allowing others to shine. As I continue to lead from all five dimensions—beside, behind, the front, the field, and within—I hope to drive positive change at UCalgary and beyond, creating more inclusive, innovative, and supportive learning environments for all.

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References:

Palmer, P. J. (2003). Teaching with Heart and Soul: Reflections on Spirituality in Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(5), 376-385.

Kimsey-House, K., & Kimsey-House, H. (2021). Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.