ABSTRACT
To share a less-publicized perspective, DeFrank-Cole and DeFrank discuss the impact of family on one’s leadership journey, specifically in a matrilineal context. Also present are the intersections of leadership with gender, class, ethnicity, and education. This chapter calls attention to women who may not have held formal positions, but definitely demonstrated leadership attributes and influence. DeFrank-Cole and DeFrank use a qualitative method—collaborative autoethnography—to indicate how mother, daughter, and granddaughter demonstrated influence through their leadership experiences. Using the lens of servant leadership, they elaborate on how each woman in the family acted to serve various causes throughout her life. The authors stress the importance of their story not for merit or recognition, but for the concept of ordinary, commonplace leadership that takes place outside and inside the context of traditional careers.
