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.
READ MORE...

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

Communication – The Third Competency

Number three on the list of competencies needed for leaders in the Inside Higher Ed* article is Communication Savvy. In other words the necessary skill is being knowledgeable about one's communication, thoughtful about what and how one is communicating, and effective in that communication. This takes work, practice, and sadly learning from mistakes as we go. In 2014, NASPA, published Executive Transitions in Student Affairs: A Guide to Getting Started as the Vice President. Edited by Ainsley Carry, I was one of the authors who contributed ...

Resilience – The 2nd Competency

My first semester as Assistant Dean for Student Conduct at UT Austin was, to say the least, challenging. In addition to learning a new job and making the transition from a very small college to a very large university, we had two high-profile profile cases we had to manage. Somewhere in that semester, as I was leaving work, the Dean of Students asked me what I was going to do that evening. I said I was going to wander around the mall. My apartment was in easy walking distance from ...

Leadership Competencies – Trust

Recently, Inside Higher Education published an article presenting a research study on the seven competencies needed by university presidents. What struck me about this article is that there were no real surprises in the list. I didn't see anything new or different from any other discussion of presidential leadership in recent years. I also thought the list, except for part of one item, is a list of competencies for anyone in a leadership role and anyone who has these competencies is likely to be seen as ...

“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