Tyrell, Simone, Cosgrove, Karine, Cook, Helmy, Addanki, Kranthi, and Ngo, Leanne (2025) LIFT as leadership practice: Cultivating identity, influence, and belonging for women in the third space. In: ACILITE 2025 Conference Proceedings. From: ASCILITE 2025: 42nd International Conference on Innovation, Practice and Research in the Use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education, 30 November - 3 December 2025, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

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Abstract

In an era of rapid institutional and digital transformation, navigating leadership in higher education’s third space presents complex identity challenges, particularly for women. Through an interactive autoethnographic process, five participants in the ASCILITE Community Mentoring Program for Women in Leadership (CMP-WiPL) explored these challenges over 18 months, combining personal reflection, peer dialogue, and professional identity practice. Through iterative cycles of self-assessment, professional identity building on LinkedIn, and collaborative discussions within our WiPL Community of Practice (CoP), the group created and refined the Leadership Identity Framework for Transformation (LIFT). Informed by theoretical models of professional identity, third space capabilities, and Communities of Practice, LIFT offers a practical and adaptable approach to scaffold identity development, address imposter syndrome, and fosters inclusive leadership. Findings highlight the power of collective sense-making, digital tools, and structured reflection in supporting professional growth. By framing leadership as a continuous reflective journey, this work provides a sustainable model for enabling confident, authentic leadership in higher education and the third space sectors shaped by uncertainty and change.

Item ID:	90277
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
Copyright Information:	The author(s) assign a Creative Commons by attribution license enabling others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon their work, even commercially, as long as credit is given to the author(s) for the original creation. © Tyrell, S., Cosgrove, K., Cook, H., Addanki, K., & Ngo, L. 2025
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2026 22:26
FoR Codes:	39 EDUCATION > 3999 Other Education > 399999 Other education not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1602 Schools and learning environments > 160204 Management, resources and leadership @ 60% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1699 Other education and training > 169999 Other education and training not elsewhere classified @ 40%
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