What is your Leadership Resolution of 2022?

With an Introduction by Lisa Hannay @lhannay1 Network Leader @WomenEdCanada

As Global Strategic Leader for #WomenEd, I oversee the Twitter account for @WomenEdCanada and work alongside all of the networks in Canada and the United States. Our geography makes it difficult for in person events so we need to depend on social media. The networks in Canada are going to be publishing some blogs reflecting on leadership. Some of the blogs will be personal reflections, while others will look at courageous and visionary women leaders in various fields. The blog I post today is from our @WomenEdQuebec network. The blog is here in English and French.

Thanks for reading! Lisa H

WomenEdCanada is composed of four regional networks: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Recently, these networks expressed some difficulty building visibility and growing their network during a pandemic. All four networks therefore decided to work collaboratively along with the country network, WomenEdCanada, to create a learning and leading network for women. Our first collaborative initiative is to write a blog about our leadership while showcasing leaders that represent to us our WomenEd values. The first blog comes from our network in Quebec.

What is your Leadership Resolution of 2022? By Mélissa Villella, Ph.D

We were hard pressed to find a day in January where we are not seeing radio, television, and Internet ads, or hearing questions, comments, suggestions, or preoccupations regarding New Year's Resolutions, and 2022 is no exception. So, we @WomenEdQuebec, have turned to some of the greatest women of our times for words of wisdom to think about how they may help us craft an answer.

Firstly, as women, mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters as well as educational and systemic leaders, we may feel that the weight of the world is heavier on our shoulders than ever before, and more specifically, that it is a weight that has not let up since the first wave of the pandemic hit us in early 2020. In this case, we imagine Michaëlle Jean, the former Governor General of Canada, reminding us that: 

"as night falls, if we feel the weight of the many reasons to be pessimistic, as day breaks, we must find enough optimism and take action, contribute one gesture, one word at a time, to build a better world, that we want to resist" (translation). 

These powerful words remind us as we move forward into 2022 to take care of ourselves just as much as we take care of others. It is our aim to make our contribution one gesture, and one word at a time.

Secondly, some of us may not have seen, or have seen very little, of our family members, friends, co-workers, as well as acquaintances as we have in the past. We @WomenEdQuebec miss being able to chat to our loved ones in person, hug them or faire la bise. And just as we were seeing a glimmer of light through the tunnel as restrictions started to lift, the recent announcements of new Covid-19 measures have once again burst our bubble of hope. This time, it's Céline Dion, a Quebec icon, that gently nudges us by saying, for example: 

"it doesn't matter if you are spending Christmas in July or December, as long as it makes you feel wonderful to spend time with the people you love". 

While we may not all celebrate Christmas, each and every one of us may be able to apply this idea of flexibility to the traditions of our daily lives.

Thirdly, some of us have missed the opportunity to help a loved one through an illness or injury. Others have even had to say goodbye to loved ones without all the collective farewells they deserve. These are probably some of the hardest moments some of us have had to face while still teaching, researching, and leading in ways that will help build a better world and address critical issues of our times, such as social justice and climate change. To this end, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit environmental, cultural, and human rights advocate and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, reminds us: 

"Everything is connected. Connectivity is going to be the key to addressing these issues, like contaminants and climate change. They're not just about contaminants on your plate. They're not just about the ice depleting. They're about the issue of humanity. What we do every day—whether you live in Mexico, the United States, Russia, China … can have a very negative impact on an entire way of life for an entire people far away from that source". 

Since everything is interconnected, we carry on, keeping those who are gone but forever loved in our hearts and minds, while also using their wisdom as inspiration to create a bigger, better, and brighter world for all.

Given such precious advice from these exceptional women leaders, it begs the question: What will your leadership resolution be for 2022?

Mélissa Villella, Ph.D., is a professor of educational administration at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. She is also the director of the diploma of specialized studies in educational institution management at the same institution.