Lead. Create. Make a difference.

NOW AVAILABLE!

Self-care is a leadership skill, not a luxury. Bring healthy practices off your to-do list and into your leadership.

"It's a wonderful book which should be a required text in any leadership class or workshop."
Sandra Rhoten

Associate Dean of Students, Emeriti, California State University-Fullerton.

"The format of this book is stellar. Gage asks questions to make the reader think and there’s a lot of work one can do to improve life and leadership.”
Sharon H. Justice

Former Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student, The University of Texas at Austin.

Sustaining Leadership

NOW AVAILABLE!

Self-care is a leadership skill, not a luxury. Bring healthy practices off your to-do list and into your leadership.

"It's a wonderful book which should be a required text in any leadership class or workshop."
Sandra Rhoten

Associate Dean of Students, Emeriti, California State University-Fullerton.

"The format of this book is stellar. Gage asks questions to make the reader think and there’s a lot of work one can do to improve life and leadership.”
Sharon H. Justice

Former Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student, The University of Texas at Austin.

Sustaining Leadership

NOW AVAILABLE!

Self-care is a leadership skill, not a luxury. Bring healthy practices off your to-do list and into your leadership.

Sustaining Leadership by Gage Pane

"It's a wonderful book which should be a required text in any leadership class or workshop."
Sandra Rhoten

Associate Dean of Students, Emeriti, California State University-Fullerton.

"The format of this book is stellar. Gage asks questions to make the reader think and there’s a lot of work one can do to improve life and leadership.”
Sharon H. Justice

Former Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student, The University of Texas at Austin.

Leadership matters.

I believe that everyone has the potential to lead. I also know we all have skills to learn or improve upon that will help us be more effective as leaders no matter what our title is. I’m committed to the idea that healthy organizations have leaders in every chair.

Everything I know about leadership, I learned on the dance floor.

Okay that’s not literally true, but I have certainly learned a lot about leading and following as a ballroom dancer. Both dance and my thirty-five years of experience in complex organizations have taught me that leadership is a complex, dynamic partnership. Our organizations and communities need creative, courageous people who will take on the challenges of leadership.

Let’s explore ways I can help you and your team learn, grow, and become authentic, effective leaders who make a difference.

Leadership Development, Professional Development

Everyone leads. The workshops and team development work I facilitate are based in this belief.
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Speaking Engagements

Everyone can make a difference. My keynote speeches are designed to encourage and support everyone in finding their own way to make a difference in their organizations and communities.
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Leadership Development, Strategy & Support

Everyone is creative. Leading is creative work. It is problem-solving, designing new ways of working, and imagining possibilities.
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wonderful practical resource review

You can’t dance with people who won’t move.
You can’t lead partners who won’t be led.

"What I enjoyed most was how Dr. Paine simply and clearly made me - a seasoned leader - not only reflect on what my team was capable of, but more importantly, how I can use my leadership as a partnership to grow as a college president."
Dr. Marcheta P. Evans

President, Bloomfield College

wonderful practical resource review

You can’t dance with people who won’t move.
You can’t lead partners who won’t be led.

"What I enjoyed most was how Dr. Paine simply and clearly made me - a seasoned leader - not only reflect on what my team was capable of, but more importantly, how I can use my leadership as a partnership to grow as a college president."
Dr. Marcheta P. Evans

President, Bloomfield College

wonderful practical resource review

You can’t dance with people who won’t move.
You can’t lead partners who won’t be led.

book-section-sized-for-web-small

"What I enjoyed most was how Dr. Paine simply and clearly made me - a seasoned leader - not only reflect on what my team was capable of, but more importantly, how I can use my leadership as a partnership to grow as a college president."
Dr. Marcheta P. Evans

President, Bloomfield College

I'm proud to have served many distinguished institutions including:

Johns Hopkins University
Office of the Dean of Student Life

NASPA
Student Affairs Administrators in
Higher Education

Northern Kentucky University
University Advancement

Texas Association Colleges and
University Student Personnel
Administrators (TACUSPA)

San Antonio Area Foundation

Stephen F. Austin State University
Division of Student Affairs

Texas A&M University
Division of Student Affairs

Texas A&M University San Antonio
Division of Student Affairs

University of Kentucky
College of Engineering, Office of
Alumni and Philanthropy

University of Miami
Division of Student Affairs

University of North Carolina
Charlotte - Title IX Office

University of North Texas
Division of Student Affairs

University of Texas at Austin
Division of Student Affairs

University of Texas Permian Basin
Division of Student Affairs and
Leadership

University of Texas at Tyler
Division of Student Success

Recent Blog Posts

Leading with Courage – Competency #6

Recently I gave a speech at the annual conference of the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA). Its first title was "Courage to Serve." I added a title later and, with apologies to Taylor Swift, called it "The Eras Presentation." I began with the story of my very first TACUSPA conference. I attended this conference in the fall of my first year as a professional in Student Affairs. It was held at a countrified resort in the Texas Hill Country that ...

Emotional Intelligence – Competency #5

One of the realities of ballroom dancing is that you are always moving in close proximity to other people, especially your dance partner. If the dance floor is crowded, there will be people moving closer to you and moving away from you constantly, while you keep moving around them. There's a lot going on. In other words, it's quite possible to bump someone, or even take an elbow to the chin, for example, or experience an awkward collision of any number of random body parts. Not ...

4th Competency – Building a Leadership Team

Of the seven competencies listed by this study*, competency #4, "crafting a cabinet and team building", is the one formulated in a way that is most specific to a senior leadership position. While anyone can call their leadership team a cabinet, it's rare in my experience for that term to be used except at the most senior level. And even then the term is certainly not universal. Whether it's called a cabinet, an executive team, leadership council, or the Monday Meeting, the group of people working most closely ...

“Hope is the thing with feathers,” says Emily.
As Maya intones, “Still I rise.”

Pablo calls us to “count to twelve” rather than ten
And Mary asks us to think about our “one wild and precious life.”

Poets teach me
To listen for the questions that go unsaid,
To ask the questions that are needed,
To find the path to wisdom and the way to make the bread.

G. Paine

Testimonials