Leadership is always dynamic, never static.  Here are some ideas for how a leader can prepare for, identify, and respond effectively to emerging challenges and, ideally, turn them into opportunities.  

Former professor, retired Lieutenant General, and current entrepreneur and board member Jeffrey Talley explains how and why women in STEMM can be great leaders.  He offers his unique insight into supporting women in their leadership journeys.

Embarking upon a new leadership position is a challenging step in an academic STEMM career.  Here are some tips for getting your ‘ducks are lined up in a row’.

Dr. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Haack describes why she chose a career in consulting after completing graduate studies and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She provides insight into how we can better prepare our graduates for the challenges and opportunities of careers outside of academia.

Developing strong leadership characteristics and management skills is akin to making sure you are equipped with the right shoes before embarking on a challenging but rewarding new leadership journey

While “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World” (2019) focuses primarily on philanthropy aimed at helping poor women and families, it contains many valuable lessons for women leaders everywhere, including in academia and tech.

A Professor of Ophthalmology with decades of leadership experience in academia co-founded a Biotech start-up. She shares her career story, offering advice on leadership training, persevering, and finding the right career path.

This guest post addresses the uncomfortable reality that women sometimes engage in academic bullying of their female colleagues.

We’re taking a short summer break but will return on July 23rd. We already have some great interviews and articles lined up for the coming months. But, if you’d like to contribute a post or have suggestions of topics you’d like to hear about, please email co-editors Janet Hering and Patricia Maurice at: epistimiblog@gmail.com

Awards and professional honors are important for visibility and career advancement. We can’t win awards if we’re not nominated. So let’s make that happen.

Xiaobo ‘Sharon’ Hu, a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, shares observations and advice based on her service as an IPA program director ‘rotator’ at the U.S. National Science Foundation

In honor of what would have been his 100th birthday, we tell the story of how one man made a huge impact on both of our careers and served as a key supporter of women in environmental science and engineering.

The “Authority Gap”, published in 2021, explored the questions of why women are taken less seriously than men and what can be done about it. This well-written and compelling book is, unfortunately, still very relevant today.

We hope this advice will help our readers to reflect on additional ways to expand their professional ‘toolbox’ of good ideas, useful actions and experiences.

A recent farewell lecture by Prof. Em. Simon Lilly (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) exposed the backstory to the dismissal of his wife Prof. Marcella Carollo in 2019 as well as the consequences for his own career.

Hydrologist George Hornberger (Emeritus University Distinguished Professor, Vanderbilt University), long recognized as a leading male ally for women in STEMM, offers some optimistic and realistic thoughts on support for women, including senior women leaders.

With a short-term, ‘zero sum’ mindset, advances for women in STEMM can seem like hindrances for men. We disagree. Systemic changes that benefit women will improve working conditions for everyone at higher education and research institutions and improve the capacity of our institutions to meet pressing societal challenges.

Women in STEMM can face a difficult path in academia; senior women leaders often face challenges associated with isolation and the novelty of breaking new ground. Being lied to or about by colleagues can make that path even more difficult and a tough job even harder. Senior women leaders have an opportunity to disrupt cultures of dishonesty and thereby improve academic environments.

As women in senior leadership positions in STEMM, we have had opportunities to support our colleagues and create positive change in our institutions. In this post, we celebrate the joys of leadership.