Each semester, the Office of Inclusive Excellence invites women in the UGA community to share three insights on leadership at Lead@3 sessions. Paige Carmichael, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and instructor in the Online Master of Science (M.S.) in Comparative Biomedical Sciences program, shared her journey and the lessons she has learned along the way.

“It was not the easiest path forward, and something that is really important to me is figuring out ways I can make that path easier for folks coming after me,” Carmichael said. Leadership was actually the last thing on her mind. Instead, she views herself as an idea generator, connector, facilitator, silo bridger, and pathfinder.

In that spirit, she connected researchers at the Lamar Dodd School of Art with radiologists at the College of Veterinary Medicine to investigate whether a painting was concealing another hidden underneath—a fitting collaboration, given her role on the board of the Georgia Museum of Art.

One particular lesson Carmichael emphasized is the importance of balancing talking and listening. In her view, that ratio should be 10% talking and 90% listening. Your focus, she stressed, should be on what the other person has to say.

Carmichael also credited her mentors—ranging from family to academic and professional experts—and highlighted the importance of seeking and relying on such support.

“Each one of these people has given me something different and extremely valuable,” Carmichael said.

Learn more about Paige Carmichael.

Originally reported by UGA Today.