Lead. Create. Make a difference.

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.

Email Gage

Professional Development >>

Everyone leads. The workshops and team development work I facilitate are based in this belief.
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Keynote Speeches >>

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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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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Recent Blog Posts

Curiosity is a Leadership Skill

Oct 15, 2019

"How did you get where you are?" It's a question I have often heard over the course of my career - especially once I became a vice president. There are many ways to answer such a question and a helpful answer depends on what the questioner really wants to explore. Some questions are about credentials. Some are about experiences. Other questions are about decisions made or jobs taken. But regardless of the specific question, there's one answer I have given more often than others. "Be ...

Listening to Learn

Oct 8, 2019

"The servant leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps to clarify that will. He or she listens receptively to what is being said and unsaid. Listening also encompasses hearing one’s own inner voice. Listening, coupled with periods of reflection, is essential to the growth and well-being of the servant leader." Larry Spears This past week, during a workshop I was facilitating, we spent some time practicing the fine art of listening. Our convention in conversation is to take turns, isn't it? ...

The Gifts of Fall

Oct 2, 2019

My first fall on campus Based on everything I know now, I can safely say I did everything wrong during my first semester of college. Well, I didn't go home every weekend since home was 500 miles away. However, since both of my grandmothers lived within an hour's drive, I did leave campus more than was good for me. I didn't do much beyond go to class and study. Like everyone else in the southern tier of the United States, I moved into my residence ...

Testimonials

Gage is an expert on assessing organizational dynamics, facilitating challenging conversations, particularly with diverse groups, team building, and change management. She also has deep knowledge of higher education having served in leadership roles at several institutions and in a number of professional associations. Due to her breadth of knowledge of the field and her outstanding facilitation skills, I have have invited Gage to work with various teams including my staff at SMU where I previously served as the Vice President for Student Affairs and the NASPA Board during my year as the 2016 NASPA Board chair. Folks who have participated in workshops, retreats and/or coaching sessions led by Gage always evaluate her work highly, and I always learn something important from my own participation. An outstanding professional-one of the best with whom I have worked.

Lori S. White
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Washington University in St. Louis

During our strategic planning process we decided, as a university, to gathered specialists in the area of high impact practices and student success models. Gage Paine was one of those specialists we gathered to help guide our process. She helped foreground our thinking about student success and developed a community wide understanding about model practices across the country. This exchange of ideas also provided an opportunity to create a common understanding of what student success will mean now and in the future.

Melissa Mahan
Vice President for Student Services, Texas A&M San Antonio

Dr. Paine is someone who is motivating. She is a mentor. She is a role model. And she's personally touched my life and my career by providing so many positive opportunities to have great experiences at UTSA.

Lisa Alonzo
Director of New Student Programs, University Of Texas San Antonio

She has a lot of vision. She has a tremendous amount of energy. She is very bright, very smart. She knows how to put teams of people together and she is the best negotiator/mediator I have ever been around. If we were getting off track, the one person I could pick up the phone and call, or visit with, or go see is Dr. Gage Paine. She gets me back on track and does it in a way that you leave the visit having more confidence, knowing everything is ok, and it is going to work out.

Lynn Hickey
Assistant Vice President, Director of Athletics, University Of Texas San Antonio

Dr. Paine has meant openness and transparency. She's been a huge assistance to all of the students of the university, and for that we really appreciate her.

Xavier Johnson
Student Government President, University Of Texas San Antonio

I cannot think of a better role model for humanity and leadership than Gage Paine. She is very strategic. She is intentional. She is a visionary. She's a delegator.

Sam Gonzales
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, University Of Texas San Antonio