At Northern Essex Community College in Massachusetts, the marketing team has adopted an unconventional yet fitting metaphor for their professional journey: climbing a beanstalk.
While they may not have encountered magic beans or a golden goose at the summit, their experience affirms that meaningful growth is achievable, even within structures that appear flat and where conventional career ladders are not immediately visible.
Those engaged in community college leadership – and, more broadly, across higher education – are acutely familiar with these dynamics. Career progression is not always linear or obvious. Titles may not reflect the breadth of responsibility, and advancement opportunities are rarely predictable. Despite these realities, dedicated professionals continue to find ways to lead, innovate and elevate their teams.
Rethinking growth in flat structures
Many leaders recognize the challenge of operating within seemingly flat organizational landscapes. Traditional career pathways may be limited or undefined, and visible indicators of advancement are often sparse. For many, professional development can feel elusive, as though it requires an extraordinary catalyst.
However, the absence of hierarchy does not equate to the absence of opportunity. Leadership is not confined to formal titles, nor is influence bound by organizational charts. Growth resides in identifying and pursuing the latent opportunities embedded within daily work and institutional ecosystems.
Building an integrated ecosystem of services
At Northern Essex, the marketing team has deliberately cultivated a comprehensive and integrated ecosystem of services. Its portfolio spans brand management, public relations, creative strategy, digital engagement and operational functions such as copier fleet management – a testament to their recognition that effective communication transcends departmental silos.
More significantly, its efforts are grounded in a culture of intentional growth and shared purpose. As the first designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in New England, the college has embraced leadership philosophies such as strengths-based management, Gallup’s Q12 engagement framework and appreciative inquiry as guiding principles.
This environment fosters proactive development, creating a culture where curiosity, collaboration and continuous learning are not just valued but expected.
Anchoring leadership in purpose
A cornerstone of the team’s approach is Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” framework. While widely referenced, its relevance remains profound. Institutions universally understand what they do: deliver education. Many can articulate how they do it – their pedagogical approaches and institutional differentiators. Yet few consistently engage with the deeper question of why they teach.
For Northern Essex, the answer is unequivocal: to strengthen and uplift the communities it serves. When leadership is grounded in such purpose, the pursuit of impact transcends the pursuit of titles. Influence is measured by contribution, not position.
Having established this purpose-driven foundation, the next step is cultivating the individual self-awareness that enables leaders to act with intention.
The foundation of self-leadership
Leadership development begins with self-awareness. Before professionals can effectively guide others or expand their organizational influence, they must first cultivate a clear understanding of their own strengths, working styles and spheres of impact.
Leadership is not confined to managerial roles or budgetary authority. Some of the most transformative leadership emerges from informal influence and cross-functional collaboration. By viewing one’s role as a platform for value creation – rather than a static position – new avenues for leadership at every level of the organization are unlocked.
Of course, self-leadership must be matched by institutional support.
“In a market like ours, where creative talent has options around every corner, growth can’t be left to chance,” says Jodi Neal, director of creative services at the Community College of Baltimore County.
Institutions that prioritize professional development – whether through on-campus opportunities or engagement with organizations like NCMPR – create the scaffolding that allows individual initiative to flourish.
Leaders and institutions must work hand-in-hand to ensure that talent is nurtured, challenged and inspired to continue the climb.
Embracing non-linear growth pathways
Growth is not one-size-fits-all. Leaders and institutions alike benefit from embracing diverse pathways to professional development:
- Vertical: Advancing through traditional promotion structures.
- Lateral: Expanding expertise and experience across functional areas.
- Deep: Establishing subject matter mastery.
- Outward: Extending influence beyond the institution to the broader higher education community.
Vertical advancement especially can be difficult with large teams. The marketing/communications team at Arizona Western College (AWC), for example, includes more than 20 people.
“As a leader, I try to connect with each team member to identify their individual growth goals and help them find opportunities to fill skills gaps or grow in an adjacent area,” says Mandy Heil, AWC’s dean of marketing and communications. “It’s not always about moving up within their exact functional lane but sometimes about expanding knowledge to move across.”
This multidimensional view not only expands individual potential but also strengthens organizational capacity. Moreover, effective growth is inherently collective. By investing in the development of colleagues and leveraging the strengths of the team, institutions amplify their collective impact and resilience.
A culture of continuous climb
Perhaps the most salient lesson of the beanstalk metaphor is that growth is a continuous process. There is no definitive summit. Each challenge presents an opportunity for renewed learning, leadership, and contribution. Even when circumstances appear stagnant, opportunities for progress often lie just beyond immediate view.
As Brené Brown – a researcher and storyteller with multiple books on leaderships – astutely observes, “Sometimes we have to rumble with a story to find the truth.” In other words, growth demands both curiosity and the willingness to navigate ambiguity. Rather than viewing this as a hindrance, effective leaders embrace it as an essential part of organizational vitality.
The beanstalk climb is ongoing – and every leader has a role in shaping the ascent.
