As accomplishments were outlined, each writer
acknowledged periods when success, much less
survival, was difficult. The challenges varied greatly
and were issued through a range of different sources,
including peers, direct-reports, and supervisors, as well
as from circumstances in their personal lives. One
described a colleague who was envious of her success
and worked consciously to inhibit her progress and stall
her promotion. Research suggests such occurrences are
common. A survey of 2,850 academic administrators
in Canada found that both women and men reported
the greatest obstacle in reaching their current post was
jealously and infighting from peers (Berkowicz, 1996).
Also mentioned was how the transition to a center
director role in a new institution involved stepping into a
very troubled unit: “It was not a peaceable kingdom, . . .
the faculty was split on almost everything . . . The senior
faculty didn’t want a new director.” Difficulties were
recounted in working with staff who were not performing
and, thus, inhibiting progress, and the difficulty in
terminating their employment due to elaborate Human
Resources policies and procedures. One writer was
almost overlooked for a well-deserved promotion by a
new interim president who was “older and old school.”
She said, “I began to suspect that he was not comfortable
with a woman in the role . . . he began to call me ‘kid.’.
. . I began to realize that he was uncomfortable not only
with my gender, but also my age.”