Considerations and Challenges of Implementing Shared Equity Leadership

18 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2024

See all articles by Elizabeth M. Holcombe

Elizabeth M. Holcombe

University of Southern California

Adrianna J. Kezar

University of Southern California

Date Written: October 01, 2024

Abstract

College and university campuses need new and creative strategies for continuing to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals amidst today's challenging cultural and political landscape. One such strategy is shared equity leadership (SEL), which broadly distributes responsibility for DEI work into people's roles across campus rather than concentrating it in a single office. SEL is predicated on the idea that accomplishing DEI goals requires a collaborative and relational approach. While this approach has had success at campuses across the country, leaders faced challenges to implementation that haven't been previously explored. This report features secondary analysis of our original SEL data, collected from eight institutions across the country in 2020-2021, looking specifically at common challenges faced by leaders in our study and strategies for navigating these challenges. We found two distinct sets of challenges. First, we noted a set of challenges that were common across most campuses but ultimately navigable. These included challenges transitioning to shared leadership approaches, difficulties navigating accountability, unevenness in leaders' personal journeys, inconsistency in different departments or units across the organization, and working together across differences in power and privilege. Our data suggest several strategies campus leaders used to successfully navigate these challenges. We also found a second set of challenges that had the potential to derail SEL efforts if not carefully and intentionally addressed. These challenges included poor relationships and lack of trust, lack of senior leadership support, and a hostile state political climate. Our data suggest some strategies for navigating these challenges, and our ongoing work with practitioners and campus leaders also informed some of our recommendations for navigating these roadblocks.

Keywords: higher education, diversity, social responsibility

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JEL Classification: I23, M14

Suggested Citation

Submitter, TIAA Institute Research Paper Series and Holcombe, Elizabeth M. and Kezar, Adrianna J., Considerations and Challenges of Implementing Shared Equity Leadership (October 01, 2024). TIAA Institute Research Paper Series Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5046363 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5046363

Elizabeth M. Holcombe (Contact Author)

University of Southern California

Adrianna J. Kezar

University of Southern California

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