Approaches to Leadership
In my field of secondary education, leadership is increasingly becoming a shared experience. We still have our traditional leadership positions, but since I started in this field ten years ago, I have noticed a significant increase in leadership opportunities and responsibilities for common classroom teachers. We are encouraged to lead small professional learning committees (PLCs), or lead professional development opportunities. As an active participant in both of these scenarios, I have deferred to my intrinsic motivation to see anything I attempt done well, and also, to my humility and openness for the input and perspective of others. In this approach I acknowledge that I am not the complete master, and am in the presence of those who have value to add to any potential initiative.
Castelli (2016) identifies the importance of relationship building, and valuing the input of others as paramount to building trust. In a limited role as a lead teacher for E-Learning Professional Development within a large English faculty at a New Zealand high school, I built trust and relationships by empowering my more technologically capable colleagues to be leaders as well. I identified quickly who had a digital skillset to contribute, and I encouraged them to participate in my shepherding of colleagues through the process of digital upskilling, completely unaware at the time that I was engaging in a form of distributed leadership for the end benefit of schoolwide improvement (Huggins, 2017). This leadership style could best be described as both a shared and transformational method (O’Toole, 2008). I was aware of both my strengths as a leader, and those of my colleagues. By doing so, I enabled them to grow as leaders in their own right, and through this team effort we collectively helped to move our organisation forward.
The Impact of Digital Technologies on How I Lead
The pre-digital era was ignorant to the variety of challenges that life in a digital world presents. In a hyper-connected world that has ubiquitous access to near infinite amount of data, leadership needs to re-calibrate itself to effectively meet these challenges head on.
In my context as a secondary educator, it is my job to prepare students for this new-digital-world, while ensuring the delivery of curricular learning objectives. Sheninger (2014) frames this challenge nicely: “Digital leadership is not about flashy tools, but a strategic mindset that leverages available resources to improve what we do, while anticipating the changes needed to cultivate a school culture focused on engagement and achievement” (p.2). In my experience, engaging digital tools are part of the process of leadership, but more important is the digital vision with which they are utilised. Sullivan (2017) identifies digital literacy and vision as two of eight skills essential for effective digital leadership. The latter is perhaps the most important skill 21st century educators must instill in their learners due to the amount of digital information available anytime anywhere in a variety of formats. I have to help my students differentiate “fake news” from actual news, and identify credible primary and secondary sources. These challenges were easier to mitigate in the pre-digital era, as students researched using well-established encyclopaedias, and scholarly reviewed books. The ability to produce and consume content has never been greater. Having a clear digital vision with the ability to recognise which tools will enhance learning and facilitate digital literacy, is therefore of paramount importance as a 21st century digital leader.
Leadership Theory for Change in Digital Learning Environments
Although the digital world is constantly evolving, existing leadership theories can still be applied. What needs to adapt is recognition of the changed nature of 21st century learning, which now extends beyond traditional classroom walls. The nature of knowledge is changing as new digital learning theories like connectivism, which focuses on the acquisition, rather than the knowing of knowledge (Siemens, 2005). Effective digital learning theories need to manage these new learning realities in a way that moves hyper-connected social learners forward in an ever-changing digital landscape.
In the 21st century knowledge economy, shared leadership fits well within the idea of educational opportunities that extend beyond classroom walls, and where students are increasingly self-directed with the role of traditional teachers becoming one that is of an assistant helping the student to acquire knowledge on their own (Morrison, 2014). With a shared leadership approach, participants are encouraged to take part in the leadership process, and recognise each other’s strengths in the completion of tasks (Muethal & Hoegal, 2013). In the scope of education, students and teachers take on a joint responsibility for leadership in the classroom, as the students focus their energy on skill development as a priority over content knowledge.
Moving forward in this manner requires a degree of humility. Shared leadership is about relinquishing a degree of control, but it is not the only effective way forward. O’Toole (2008) identifies transformational leaders as those who “are moral agents and enablers of followers” (p. 4). This leadership style requires seeing the big picture, and recognising strengths within your team, and allowing them to develop their own leadership skills. Effective transformational leadership enables followers to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group (Bass, 1990). In an education setting, this means getting students to work together to learn new concepts, and understand that the world beyond secondary education is requiring these skills. In addition, educators following the direction of the transformational leader, continue to view themselves as experts in their chosen subject, but also extend this expertise to help their followers develop the newly defined digital skills necessary for the 21st century. These educators and learners are inspired to do so, because the transformational leader at the helm has instilled them with the confidence to do so. In a digital era, this could mean advocating certain technologies or pedagogies as the most effective way forward, because the followers have been identified as proficient in this capacity.
Ultimately, successful leadership in the digital era requires vision, and confidence. Leaders need to see the end goal, and have confidence in their team to reach the goal by identifying appropriate skill sets and executing a clear plan that followers can get behind.
References
Bass, B. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18(3), 19-19.
Castelli, P. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236.
Huggins, K., Klar, H. W., Hammonds, H. L., & Buskey, F. C. (2017). Developing Leadership Capacity in Others: An Examination of High School Principals’ Personal Capacities for Fostering Leadership. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 12(1).
Morrison, C. D. (2014). From ‘Sage on the Stage’ to ‘Guide on the Side’: A Good Start. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(1), 4.
Muethel, M., & Hoegl, M. (2013). Shared leadership effectiveness in independent professional teams. European Management Journal, 31(4), 423-432.
O’Toole, James (2008). Notes Toward a Definition of Values-Based Leadership. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 1(1).
Prescott Area Leadership (2018). Leadership [photograph] Retrieved from: http://www.prescottarealeadership.org/
Sheninger, E. (2014). Pillars of digital leadership. International Centre for Leadership in Education.
Sullivan, L. (2017, June) 8 Skills Every Digital Leader needs CMS Wire. Retrieved from: https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/8-skills-every-digital-leader-needs.
