With respect to addressing the challenge of work-life
balance, less success was found in their roles as leaders.
The narratives revealed the personal life often took
a backseat to the professional and, in many instances,
the personal lives suffered as a result. On occasion,
circumstances pushed the personal to the forefront, and
the work lives suffered. The decision to step down from
the provost’s position was made because of the difficulty
of combining work and family life at a time when called
into an intensive caretaker role. While she felt this was
the right decision, she laments leaving a position she
loved. Reflecting upon this time she said, “I consider
this (the inability to achieve work-life balance) a great
failure on my part, as I loved the work, and if I had been
able to more effectively achieve balance, then I would
likely have remained in the position for many years to
come.” The immense popularity of the recent national
best-selling book by Sandberg and Scovell (2013), Lean
In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, makes clear the
difficult choices that female leaders confront regarding
work and family balance have no easy answers. If
there are lessons to be learned from the experiences on
this issue, they are ones that were not realized in time
from which to benefit. Not surprisingly, the authors’
mentoring advice to women entering administration
always will include words about diligently pursuing
balance. However, they question whether academic
administration today is structured in such a way as to
afford a real chance at striking that balance for most.
Their optimistic natures compelled them to believe the
redefinition of senior academic leadership roles one day
will be accomplished to the benefit of both female and
male leaders. This will occur as a result of the persistent
and insistent voices of new leaders employing lessons
learned from their mentors to negotiate roles that allow
such balance.