Women in leadership must symbolize success.

One hundred days into her job as the first woman principal at Canada's McGill University, Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum is one of 13 women heading Canadian colleges, universities and technical schools.

In her early days on the job, a male colleague asked how he should treat the first woman principal. "Whatever you do, you'll do it wrong," she replied sympathetically.

"Women are evolving and men aren't," she explained at the Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC) conference held in Ottawa in April. "Be aware of it, but don't let it get you down."

Preserve the culture but bring change

Located in Montreal, McGill University is one of Canada's top public research universities. Munroe-Blum said she was pleased at her welcome in the groundbreaking role. "After having been at six institutions, I was astonished at the warmth and collegial community" she recalled. "There is modesty in the academic community and deep support for McGill." There's also a belief in working hard for the good of the school despite a tough economic climate.

That can-do attitude coincides with the school's prominence. As VP for research and international relations at the University of Toronto, she frequently bumped up against McGill. When McGill's top position opened, she decided that since she couldn't beat them, she might as well join them.

Having taken the job, she was shocked to learn its power. "There is an incredible sense that the principal runs the university" she said. Deans, chairs and directors run the programs, but the decision-making is at the top.