Jen Spurlin Of Concorde Career Colleges On How We Can Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership and Management
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Measurement of the impact of women in leadership. I believe standardizing a set of performance metrics that track women in leadership will clearly demonstrate an organization’s return on investment for creating intentional pathways for women in these roles. This “Women in Leadership (WIL) Quotient” would track the percentages of women in the C-suite, VP and mid-management levels and success metrics with a more balanced team in comparison to standardized performance metrics for organizations.
Despite strides towards equality, women remain underrepresented in leadership and management roles across various sectors. In this series, we would like to discuss the barriers to female advancement in these areas and explore actionable strategies for change. We are talking with accomplished women leaders, executives, and pioneers who have navigated these challenges successfully, to hear their experiences, tactics, and advice to inspire and guide the next generation of women toward achieving their full potential in leadership and management roles. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jen Spurlin.
Jen Spurlin is the Chief Operating Officer for Concorde Career Colleges where she leads strategic growth and optimization efforts, and oversees operations, academic affairs, and business development. Her 20-year career in the higher education sector has encompassed operations, public-private partnerships, secondary/post-secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE), institutional and programmatic accreditation, and executive oversight of certificate and degree programs. Jen’s early career as a healthcare professional and clinical program instructor laid the foundation for her success as a career school executive focused on providing an exceptional student experience.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was a severe asthmatic as a child and was in and out of the hospital. I was what we call a “frequent flyer” and knew all the nurses by name. There was a pivotal moment in eighth grade when I almost died.
I ended up on the pediatric floor of our local hospital, and although the rooms were relatively small, I remember it feeling like the biggest room ever, because the respiratory therapist was in the far corner. My mother was watching my oxygen saturation plummet and was yelling “what are you guys doing?” Everything was muffled for me because I was dying, right? I was blue and needed to be resuscitated. Out of desperation, my mother called a friend’s husband who was a cardiologist and told him “Jen is dying and they’re not doing anything,” He immediately rang the ER and issued the code over the phone, which sent the rapid response team up to the pediatric floor. I ended up in the ICU on a ventilator for 10 days.
We learned later that the respiratory therapist was brand new and totally scared out of their mind. They knew I was in a bad spot but had been disciplined previously for calling codes too early.
So, when it came time to select a profession, I knew I had to be the one who’s standing next to the bed — not in the corner of the room. I had to be a different type of respiratory therapist. During my time as a practitioner, I made sure I was there for patients no matter the circumstances — including through the moment they died. I held their hands, and told them it’s going to be okay, because that’s what I knew they needed to hear.
When I left the bedside and moved to education, a lot of my patient experience got melded into my teaching style. I was determined to train more people to be the type of respiratory therapist who’s standing at the bedside — and to instill in my students the understanding that no matter how freaked out you might be, you can’t show it, you must be there for the patient. When I had the opportunity to start working in corporate management, my focus then became “what can I do for our teachers to have a broader impact? How many student and patient lives can we positively impact?”
For me, it’s always been about widening that impact. As a respiratory therapist, I could save a finite number of lives. As a teacher of future respiratory therapists, I’ve compounded that by 30. As an executive, that impact widens exponentially.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Years ago, I served on a board with Jami Frazier, and we were at a board dinner together. I told her I was devastated over the news that my CEO was retiring. I fretted over whether to look for opportunities outside of the organization, because I felt that we were a duo, and my success was our success.
Jami shared her personal experience with her mentor CEO and said: I learned that whatever we’ve done in our careers is OUR success. While people may support or advocate for you, your success is not dependent on somebody else, so don’t hesitate to look for opportunities to advance your career elsewhere. Her words have stuck with me. So many times, when I’ve felt like taking a risk, I hear her encouraging voice in my head say, “it’s your success” and it’s empowered me to take decisive action.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly influenced your path to leadership?
I had a good friend and colleague, Amy Brown, who has greatly influenced me throughout my career. When I was a young mom, a respiratory therapy program director position opened. I didn’t feel like I was ready, but Amy had long heard my ideas for managing the program. She reminded me that my vision was always spot on, and that I should be leading the program. She really challenged my thinking and self-criticism. I took the leap into that leadership role and under my guidance, the program started receiving annual Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) Distinguished RTT Credentialing Success Awards and won the national student quiz bowl championship.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
That would also be Amy Brown. I will forever be grateful to her for convincing me to go into education. At the beginning of my career, I worked with Amy in a hospital, and she would listen to me precepting students. A preceptor is the healthcare practitioner who supervises and trains students during their clinical rotations. Amy later went to work for a career school as the director of clinical education. She called me one day and said, “we need teachers like you, please come work for us.” So, I took the leap into the education field and started as a faculty member.
When Amy became a program director, she asked me to manage clinical education. Soon after, I had my first child and came back from a short maternity leave. It became clear in the first month that it was too much to juggle parenting with the role. I met with Amy, and I remember crying as I told her, “I have to step away from work and just take care of this baby. He must be my number one focus. You’ve empowered me, and provided this opportunity, and I don’t want to let you down.” And of course, she told me that I wasn’t letting her down.
But she gave me this advice: Don’t stay out of the game for long. Even if you just come back part-time, keep your foot in the door. So less than a year later, I returned as a part-time faculty member, starting with two classes a week. Teaching was second nature, so it was a great way to ease myself back into work.
As I mentioned before, Amy was the one to encourage my leap into leadership when the opportunity arose.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
“Impact Players” by Liz Wiseman. Liz uses research to define the anatomy of what an impact player looks like — someone who does great work, but also lifts the whole team. Liz’s research unveils the small differences between typical contributions and high impact contributions. Impact players “do things without being asked, anticipate problems and have a plan, help teammates, do a little extra on a project, and are curious and ask good questions.” I love this book because it inspires leadership from within. So many books outline how to be a great leader, but this book outlines how to be great at all the work we do. It is infectious. I have shared this book with many teams, and every time, the team is stronger, more connected, and more effective.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
The Angela Davis quote “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change… I’m changing the things I cannot accept,” has long inspired me. I worked at previous organizations with a cultural undercurrent that was less supportive of women in higher-level leadership positions, and the most shocking aspect was that I experienced this bias from another female leader. After trying to crack the ceiling for quite a while, I made the intentional decision to research other organizations that better aligned with my values and goals.
During the interview process, I started inquiring about gender demographics on all levels, whether women held key leadership roles, and asked to meet with at least one woman one-on-one. This approach paid off. I hit the culture jackpot at Concorde Career Colleges and believe our DEI culture, combined with my colleagues’ genuine support and some good old-fashioned hard work, are the reasons for my most recent promotion to Chief Operating Officer.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I have made it one of my tenets to search for leadership potential in all the women I work alongside. I am constantly looking for women who have the interest, skills, and drive for leadership. I never hesitate to reach out and ask if they want support. As the Lao Tzu quote goes, “Great acts are made up of small deeds.” I believe the small act of searching for greatness and asking, “Can I help?” is important to the greater cause.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this report, only about 31.7% of top executive positions across industries are held by women. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from leadership and management?
The construct that parenting and leadership positions are mutually exclusive for women. This way of thinking creates a significant barrier for women. I believe women can have both if we are open and honest with our support network and colleagues. When we are both mothers and leaders, we show future generations that it is possible. It’s important to show my daughter that she can do both and my son that women can be equal contributors in the office and at home.
Juggling a career and family responsibilities inevitably leads to dropping some balls. When my kids see me drop balls at home and work, they see it as normal and okay. When I talk about this concept with female colleagues, I share my glass and rubber ball theory. The original theory was coined by Bryan Dyson, a former CEO of Coca-Cola. His theory defines five balls representing work, family, health, friends, and spirituality. In my theory, everything is either a glass ball (important) or a rubber ball (less important). When a project fails, a kid misses practice, or we have health concerns, I ask myself to measure the impact and categorize the situation as glass or rubber. When a teammate brings me a situation or mistake, my first question is, “Is it glass or rubber?” If it is rubber, I encourage them to let it go and learn from it. If it is glass, I want to know how I can support them. For myself, if it is rubber, I give myself grace. If I drop glass balls, that generally means that I am overextended and need to be honest with coworkers and reprioritize my focus.
I like the idea of replacing the statement, “You can have it all,” with “You can juggle the glass and rubber balls, but you will drop some balls.” I always feel like if I’m not dropping a few rubber balls, I’m not taking enough risks. It is important to note that juggling both home and career isn’t the winning formula for all women.
This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become leaders and managers?
When our leadership mirrors our employees and our stakeholders, we make better business decisions. We have diversity in thought and decision-making. Just like racial representation, when all genders are represented and respected in leadership, it creates a safe and accessible environment that attracts and retains quality employees. Also, some organizations with women in key leadership positions have created pathways that benefit men. If an organization addresses flexibility or overwork as a barrier to women, it also provides a pathway for men to be more of a contributor at home.
Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership and Management?”
1. More gender bias training. Create specific training that outlines the implicit bias against women in leadership. Adding this to critically important training on unconscious bias about multiple underrepresented groups also helps address the intersectional issues of women of color or women with a disability. If a training that highlights gender bias in leadership about assumptions related to leadership style and family demands was the norm it would provide education and guided discussions that can make change. Organizations must ask themselves, are they really open to supporting and promoting women? If specific organizations are vulnerable in identifying the invisible and visible barriers and removing the barriers to create a pathway for women, there will inevitably be more engagement from women.
2. More industry-specific Women in Leadership networks. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the Women Accelerating Career Schools (WACS) network, founded by Jeri Porchaska. This network meets regularly to discuss leadership challenges and best practices in the Postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) sector. All the women in the group celebrate each other’s success and are always available for guidance. Hearing how another woman has navigated challenges and opportunities is priceless. The benefits that I have gained from membership are too numerous to list, but I know that I am more engaged as a leader and more supportive of other women seeking a leadership role because of this network and impressive women.
3. Measurement of the impact of women in leadership. I believe standardizing a set of performance metrics that track women in leadership will clearly demonstrate an organization’s return on investment for creating intentional pathways for women in these roles. This “Women in Leadership (WIL) Quotient” would track the percentages of women in the C-suite, VP and mid-management levels and success metrics with a more balanced team in comparison to standardized performance metrics for organizations.
4. As women, we need to take more risks. What if we had a weekly or monthly risk tracker and challenged ourselves to take at least three risks in a set period? What if we held ourselves accountable and mourned missed risks/opportunities? I try to always remind myself that opportunities are unpredictable, fleeting, and rarely repetitive. Without taking risks, we’ll never know what we are missing.
5. Support more women-run businesses. We always talk about supporting other women, and most of us are looking to support the women we work alongside, but I think we need to think bigger. Supporting the women closest to us is extremely important but anonymous support is also key for a balanced leadership workforce. If we shop, eat, and stay at businesses that are owned or led by women, we are sending an anonymous message of support.
In your opinion, what systemic changes are needed to facilitate more equitable access for women to leadership roles?
I believe that leadership needs to be a core competency taught in secondary and postsecondary education to all students. The content needs to include historical representation and bias (gender and racial), including the compounding effect of women of color or women with a disability. Leadership is often described as a male trait, and the perspective is reinforced when there are more men in computer science, business, and leadership college programs. This systemic barrier can result in women prioritizing likeability over competence, avoiding ambition, or expecting that their work will stand for itself and naturally lead to opportunities.
What strategies have you found most effective in mentoring and supporting other women to pursue leadership positions?
In addition to advocacy, I focus on supporting other women by encouraging them to create a vision of how they want their careers to evolve. I ask them to describe their dream role and to imagine that there are no rules or barriers, reminding them to dream big. After they identify their dream role as a goal, we outline specific and measurable actions they need to accomplish this goal like education, cross-training, or taking on more special projects. Building the vision and actions helps forge the pathway. The pathway may twist and turn and transform into something else entirely, but the intention of thinking about our careers and creating milestones provides a growth mindset for our career pathways.
I love the Anna Wintour quote, “People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.” It is equally important to zoom out and look at how far you’ve come and celebrate your accomplishments. An important part of this approach is to follow up with the women I mentor, ask about their progress with actions and milestones, and share fast-track opportunities.
How would you advise a woman leader about how to navigate the challenges of being a woman in a leadership role within a male-dominated industry?
While healthcare and education are female-dominated industries, I have navigated male-dominated executive teams and learned that there are male allies; you just have to find them. Many men in the workplace have partners and daughters who work and are navigating the barriers to women in leadership. My male allies have been compassionate and advocated for me. When identifying an ally, I like to learn about their families, and this naturally leads to human-to-human conversations that directly or indirectly include barriers and goals.
How do you balance the demand for authoritative leadership with the stereotypical expectations of female behavior in professional settings?
Throughout the years, I have learned that I adjust my leadership style and level of sacrifice based on my supervisor’s cultural expectations. I would love to say that I learned to stand up for my style and defy the system, but this hasn’t always been my reality.
Being honest with myself and knowing this, I now put my energy into ensuring that my supervisor’s expectations align with my leadership style and willingness to sacrifice. This hasn’t always been easy. I have had to step away from organizations and positions because I felt like my style and the expectations placed on me didn’t align. When I found myself sacrificing too much, expecting too much, or enforcing control, I knew something was wrong.
We often focus on encouraging women to negotiate their promotions and pay, but there is less focus on negotiating leadership style and sacrifice. In my current role, I have open conversations with my president, Kevin Prehn about expectations and frequent check-ins about the effectiveness of my style and opportunities for alignment. As a result, I have the best transparency and alignment that I have experienced during my 20+ year career.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
As I mentioned earlier, I’d like to see a widely used measurement of the impact of women in leadership. Standardizing a “Women in Leadership (WIL) Quotient” could decrease barriers to women’s career pathways and increase their engagement in leadership. In the future, women who are researching organizations could use the WIL Quotient as an indicator for future advancement.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I invite readers to connect with me on LinkedIn and visit our website.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
