Dr. Jennifer Waldeck, associate professor of communication studies, was recently an invited speaker for the Race & Gender Project lecture series at William Paterson University, located in Wayne, New Jersey about 15 miles from Manhattan.  On February 11, 2015 she led faculty and administrator participants in a one-day reflective workshop on women, power, and leadership.  She shared her own research findings and insights from consulting work, as well as research from the communication field on the three bases of strong leadership communication:

  1.  The psychological foundation the woman leader works from:  The personal and position-specific power that we perceive ourselves to have, our emotional intelligence, self-concept, and self-esteem.
  1.  The communication skills that allow the woman leader to reach outside herself and interact effectively and influentially with others.
  1.  The systems that the woman leader finds herself acting within:  The structure and function of our social, organizational, cultural and political systems can impact the woman leader and how she communicates in unique ways.

It was a fascinating day of insights and discussion among participants who represented brand new first-year faculty all the way through the ranks to seasoned administrators.  The workshop culminated with participants setting goals and considering strategies they can implement to expand their influence and communicate competently with diverse stakeholders.