When I started the Aurora women’s leadership programme back in 2014, I initially knew nothing about it. My line manager at Edinburgh Napier University had asked me to sign up a couple of weeks earlier. So I had filled out the forms and made my way to the first session.
Some ten years later and my journey into the world of leadership has now almost come full circle – as these days I am an Aurora mentor as well as a speaker on the programme.
The first step
Taking the first step into leadership is hard if you cannot even see the beginning of the road. I would never have attended Aurora if my line manager had not put me forward. I had a narrow view of what leadership was and who leaders were, and I didn’t fit my own definitions at that time.
Initially, I thought the leadership challenges I faced were related to my institution. At that stage, I had not looked much beyond my subject area, let alone the sector as a whole. Aurora helped to change that through its sessions and action learning sets. The action learning sets were great for realising that my challenges were not as unique as I thought they were.
The power of mentoring
As part of Aurora, I was assigned a mentor which was another first for me. I had never had the experience of a senior leader giving me their time and support to help me explore strengths and areas for development. Being mentored was very powerful. It helped build my confidence, feel visible outside of my own school, and learn how to view things from a university- and sector-wide perspective.
After completing Aurora, I was assigned my own Aurora mentee and soon realised the great privilege of being a mentor and how much of a two-way learning experience it is. I have now mentored both academic and professional service colleagues as part of Aurora.
Role model
In 2017, I was invited to be an Aurora role model. I remember it felt quite exciting to be back in the room with some experience under my belt and the chance to meet new participants. Being asked to be a role model was another step in feeling visible outside of an academic subject, and it recognised of the value of leadership experience as a distinct form of expertise.
MBA in Educational Leadership
In 2018, I enrolled on an MBA in Educational Leadership. The ‘Me’ from 2014 would never have believed it - but Aurora planted a seed which continued to grow. I became someone who was actively interested in leadership. I wrote a blog about my experience on the MBA because it was another key step on my leadership journey.
In 2019, after 17 years in the world of forensic psychology, and after four years leading my department, I moved to Nottingham Trent University to take up a central position as Head of Academic Development. I had fallen so much in love with educational leadership that I wanted to share it and inspire others regardless of their discipline.
But it turned out 2019/20 was not what anyone expected. I became the interim Executive Dean of Learning and Teaching just three months before learning and teaching had to undergo a radical change due to the pandemic. Baptism of fire is perhaps the best phrase for this.
Fast forward another couple of years and Advance HE asked me if I was interested in speaking at an Aurora event in 2023. I instantly said yes. I strongly believe in the value of professional development in learning and teaching and feel it is the single most important thing we can do for staff confidence and wellbeing, and for the student experience. So I was delighted to speak to that.
No one does this alone
In my leadership journey, I have been fortunate to work alongside colleagues who were generous with their time. Time is perhaps the most precious thing right now in higher education and it is too easy to leave colleagues to it, and hope effective leaders emerge, or that folk just work things out for themselves. However, I believe we have to be more purposeful than that if we want effective and supportive leaders. Early in my journey I needed people to guide me, share their wisdom, listen to me, and give me chances. I had that, and I now do my best to give that to others.
Aurora women’s leadership programme is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Since it was launched in 2013, more than 10,000 women from nearly 200 different institutions across the UK and the Ireland have completed it – all gaining new skills, bigger networks and fresh perspectives on leadership. To mark this special milestone, women who have taken part in Aurora since its very earliest days share their stories and institutions outline the role it plays in their gender equality work.
Becoming an Aurora Mentor workshops
Mentoring is now a vital development tool in many organisations and can be used to speed up integration through induction mentoring, to develop skills and support career progress as well as to address strategic objectives such as diversity, well-being or retention.
Evidence suggests that both mentor and mentee gain from the experience so the skills of mentoring appear to enhance wider working practices. This course gives an introduction to mentoring in an institutional context and will identify how to make mentoring effective. It will cover best practice guidelines to follow and give delegates practical advice in addition to well validated tools and techniques to use.
Aurora Alumnae Network
The Aurora Alumnae community is designed exclusively for women who have completed the Aurora programme, offering a platform for ongoing growth and collaboration. It was established in recognition of the transformative impact of the Aurora programme. With over 10,000 women from nearly 200 institutions in the UK and Ireland participating in Aurora since its launch in 2013, the community addresses the continued need for support, development, and connectivity among its members.
