Subject: What was the catalyst for your leadership journey?

March 2022 | Issue 46

Gina Creek

AdventHealth's Leadership Institute Executive Director Gina Creek will offer her expertise at AWL's Virtual Mentor Series event, 3-4 p.m. Eastern, March 24.

Gina Creek didn't recognize her leadership ability until someone else pointed it out.

Now, almost 20 years later, as the executive director of AdventHealth’s Leadership Institute, she oversees its systemwide leadership development programs, serving thousands of leaders working in hospitals in nine states.

Creek describes herself while a student as a person who liked to partner with and assist those in charge. She didn’t see herself as a leader, but Chaplain Rich Carlson, now retired vice president for spiritual life and associate professor of psychology and religion at Union College in Lincoln, Neb., did. He asked her to coordinate a program and nurtured her as a leader. That experience continues to shape her view of who has leadership abilities.

“I think we all have the raw materials of leadership in us, but some of us are never called to solve a problem that requires leadership or that we feel compelled to exercise leadership in the presence of,” she says.

Creek has kept that belief, allowing her to find and train leaders such as nurses and administrative assistants who had never led before. With her leadership training, these new leaders guided organizational changes as AdventHealth acquired new hospitals.

She understands when people may not see a connection from a person’s job description to their leadership abilities. Creek trained to be a math teacher. She spent two years after college researching and writing a leadership book, Crafting a Culture: A Guide to Successful Campus Ministries. Then she returned to her original career path as a high school math teacher. She paused briefly to earn a master’s degree in organizational development, and returned to the math education field again at Andrews University while her husband attended the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.

“I think we all have the raw materials of leadership in us.”

“What I find ... is people think that my two worlds, this world of math education and this world of leader development are really disparate,” Creek says. “… But the truth is that I can remember times when a student walked into my classroom initially thinking, ‘I'm not good at math.' And if you listen carefully to that, that's an identity statement. It's a self-qualifying or quantifying way of talking about yourself. And through the process of working with them, they would discover, 'I can do this,' which is the bridge to, 'Maybe I'm not bad at math and maybe I can be good at this.' And they start to think differently about themselves.”

Creek, who recently earned a doctor of education degree in leadership and learning in organizations, believes the same is true for leadership. Whether a person believes they are a great leader or that they don’t have leadership qualities at all, both have an opportunity learn and grow.

With the right tools, “leader development has this amazing transformative quality,” Creek says.

— Michele Joseph, managing editor, Adventist Women Leaders newsletter

Feeling Alone? It's Time To Assemble Your Tribe

How do you navigate onliness? Are you lonely? Does it make you want to leave your role? Does it prohibit you from speaking up in a room? Do you feel less confident?

Leah JM Dean, author and executive leadership coach shared lessons on how to navigate onliness, at Adventist Women Leaders’ first Virtual Mentor Series event. Thirty-five women from across the U.S.; Montreal, Canada; Bermuda and Zimbabwe joined together on Zoom to participate in a presentation and discussion on how assembling your tribe can help.

“We have tribes to create safety and support, but they also become a springboard,” Dean said.

Using the story of Christ and his disciples, Dean shared lessons on how to assemble a tribe that allows us to experience belonging.

“Christ was the ultimate only,” Dean says. “There is no other leader before or since who has carried the mantel that he carried.”

To learn about who we need in our tribe and how God is already working to send us the right people, watch Dean’s presentation. Details on how are coming soon.

Did you miss it?

Watch the recording of Leah JM Dean's presentation. You'll find it on our website soon.

Up next

Sometimes how your team gets to a decision is more important than the decision itself. The environment and the process are key factors.

Join us at 3 p.m. Eastern, March 24 as Gina Creek, executive director of AdventHealth's Leadership Institute, talks about creating an environment for decision-making.

AWL’s Virtual Mentor Series is one of the ways this community is working to fulfill the needs of support for women leaders around the globe.

“Growing takes us out of our comfort zone,” said Ann Roda, AWL Committee member and vice president of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care for Adventist HealthCare. “It can be both exhilarating and scary at the same time. However, growing is best done when done together with others, so we can support one another, encourage and lift each other up to be the leaders God has called us to.”

To stay informed about upcoming topics and meeting dates, check the AWL newsletter, website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

To suggest topics, email us at connect@adventistwomenleaders.com.

— Michele Joseph, managing editor, Adventist Women Leaders newsletter

"Growth and comfort don't coexist. ... That's true for people, for companies and for nations."

— Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM

You can find quotes like this and so much more on AWL's Facebook page.

Celebrate the Achievements of Women Leaders

Pastor Chanda M. Nunes was elected executive secretary of the Nevada-Utah Conference.

Let’s celebrate God’s work and blessings in the lives of Adventist Women Leaders. Please share links to articles and social media posts announcing promotions, honors and achievements that we can share in this newsletter. Email info to connect@adventistwomenleaders.com.

Meditations

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

— Romans 15:13, NIV

AWL's Prayer Circle

Kathy Batchelor

Human Resources Director

Northern California Conference
Roseville, CA

kathy.batchelor@nccsda.com

Jody Eddy

Pastor

Western Australia Conference

jodyeddy@adventist.org.au

Visit Us on Instagram & Facebook

AWL is now on Instagram and Facebook. Like, subscribe and share your advice. Enjoy our Women's History Month tributes to early Adventist women leaders, encouragement from powerful quotes and beautiful reminders of God's special gift — the Sabbath.

Visit Our Website

Our website offers resources, news, links to Flourish podcasts, newsletter archives and will promote upcoming events. Stop by the website to view new content and share the URL with friends.

CONNECT WITH AWL AND INVITE A FRIEND!

AWL is a community of women affirming, encouraging and celebrating God's goodness to those He has called to lead.

AWL Committee: Wendy Eberhardt, committee advisor; Celeste Ryan Blyden, founder/chair; Brenda Dickerson, Carolyn R. Forrest, Ann Roda and Michele Joseph, communication manager

Click to read past AWL newsletter editions.

Subscribe