{"id":40,"date":"2025-11-14T12:35:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T12:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/?p=40"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T12:35:28","slug":"leading-with-generosity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/2025\/11\/14\/leading-with-generosity\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading with Generosity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading with Generosity: Reflections on a joint event of women\u2019s networks at the University of Bath<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photograph
Participants at the 'generous leadership' event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our recent joint event of the Women Academics Change Agents (WACA) Network and Senior Professional Women\u2019s Leadership Network brought together colleagues from across the university to explore generous leadership<\/i><\/b>; what it looks like, how it feels, and why it matters.<\/p>\n

We heard from two inspiring speakers: Fiona Gillison, Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Corinne Evans, Executive Director (External Relations). Both shared honest reflections on moments when they had witnessed, or experienced, generous leadership in action.<\/div>\n
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For Corinne, generous leadership is about\u00a0generosity of time and knowledge<\/i>: people sharing networks, creating space for others to grow, and working in teams where it\u2019s okay not to have all the answers. Fiona spoke about the value of a\u00a0no-blame culture<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 recognising that things sometimes go wrong, but that leaders can model accountability and constructive problem-solving \u00a0<\/span>in putting them right, and own,\u00a0rather than distancing themselves from tough decisions.<\/div>\n
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Both agreed that leadership is a journey of learning and humility. Fiona emphasised the importance of being willing to be wrong and of having a \u201cwing person\u201d to help you keep perspective. Corinne reflected that her biggest periods of growth have come from mistakes or working through difficult situations.<\/span>\u00a0For her, understanding her own leadership style, how you make decisions and communicate, helps you lead and connect more effectively.<\/div>\n
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The discussion also touched on gender and confidence. Corinne noted how often women preface their contributions in meetings with phrases like \u201cI might be wrong...\u201d or \u201cThis might just be me but...\u201d Her advice was clear: don\u2019t apologise for your presence.<\/i><\/div>\n
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\"The
Framework for generous leadership presented by Lizzie Little and Kate Elliot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Lizzie Little and Kate Elliot from the Centre for Coaching & Leadership presented a model of generous leadership that represents a progressive and human-centred model of leadership increasingly recognized across academia.\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Generous leadership contrasts with hierarchical or managerial approaches by prioritising collective success over individual advancement. In the university context, where collegiality, research excellence, and student experience intersect, generous leadership fosters environments where staff and students feel valued, supported, and empowered to contribute meaningfully.<\/div>\n
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Participants at the event explored a framework for generous leadership that requires\u00a0authenticity<\/i><\/b>,\u00a0empathy<\/i><\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0adaptability<\/i><\/b> to deliver results. Through conversations at our (sweet-themed \ud83d\ude0a) discussion tables, we reflected on what it means to act with purpose, show genuine care, and stay flexible in a fast-changing environment. A key takeaway was that generous leadership isn\u2019t about giving endlessly of yourself \u2014 it\u2019s about offering timely and appropriate attention, that is context-dependent, and support in ways that empower others. It\u2019s about listening more than talking, embracing vulnerability, and always asking: what\u2019s the kind and generous thing to do in this situation?<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This first joint networking event sparked rich, open conversations about leadership, learning, and the challenges women continue to face in higher education. If the energy in the room was any indication, it certainly won\u2019t be the last.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leading with Generosity: Reflections on a joint event of women\u2019s networks at the University of Bath Our recent joint event of the Women Academics Change Agents (WACA) Network and Senior Professional Women\u2019s Leadership Network brought together colleagues from across the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[5,7,9,12],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-women-academics","tag-women-in-academia","tag-women-leaders","tag-women-networking"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/547"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/women-academics-can\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}