In my near future I will be spearheading a program, where, if I am honest, and if I use one of the many change readiness tools created by my fellow MALAT cohort, I would say that my organisation is not ready for such a change. However, I want this change because it will make my day to day easier, and it is happening whether I am on board or not. So, I hope to make the best of this opportunity, and prove that I have learned something about leading digital change. If successful, I hope that this will be the first step down a new career path for me.
At the outset of this course, I did not fancy myself a leader, and nearing its conclusion I would say that not much has changed in that regard. What has changed is an improved sense, not of what it takes to be a leader, but a knowledge of the process of leading. I would not say I have gained any charisma, or specific leadership skill, but I now know better what considerations needs to be taken into account to effectively manage people and ideas, which is ultimately what leadership is all about.
My Evolving Perspective
Given the ubiquity of change within the digital learning industry, I expect that my perspective will be ever evolving as I try to incorporate the latest pedagogy and trends in whatever leadership roles my future may hold. So, from the outset of this course, I would not say that perspective has changed, but my knowledge base has grown. I now know better how to approach digital leadership and change. In my initial blog post (Hartlen, 2018), I referenced Conway, Masters, and Thorold’s (2017) view that a user centred approach to digital leadership and innovation is, for now, the most effective way forward. Here are my observations about 21st century society:
The world we live in today is more individualistic with people increasingly operating as individual companies within the global workforce. This reality is often out of necessity. As technology makes jobs more and more obsolete, the creative/gig economy is going to gain increasing prominence. Herein lies a paradox. The job market is more of an individualistic pursuit, but these individual contractors often have to be effective within a team environment. With temporary and contract jobs seeing a 60% rise between 1997-2014, and the question of whether these self-employed contractors have the required communications, leadership and teamwork skills that come from functioning in a more conventional work setting (Brown, 2017), the problem only stands to become more prevalent.
With the rise of the temporary economy, leadership from an organisational perspective will need to manage these temporary contract workers and the more permanent traditional staff effectively to ensure that workplace productivity is maintained. In this way, consistent reflection and evaluation of team-members and stakeholders can help to optimise organisational performance (Castelli, 2016). By reflecting throughout the process of change, implementation problems can be more quickly addressed than they can by post project reflection, which in many cases would come too late in the fast paced change economy of the 21st century.
Digital Change Leadership
According to Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015), “Change leaders are people with creative visions, who are able to foresee a new reality and how to get to it…they have to motivate employees to take responsibility and be an active part of the change” (p. 239). In my current K-12 context as I prepare to lead a small high school through the incorporation of BYOD pedagogy and best practice, I plan to utilise the knowledge gained from my recent creation of a digital implementation tool by: identifying my organisations problem, identifying and aligning with stakeholders, and then effectively leading my colleagues through the various constraints and barriers to change we will encounter (Doyle, Hartlen, MacGregor, & Young, 2018).
By keeping the various stakeholders front and centre as individuals, and having and in-depth knowledge, as a leader, of the potential barriers to change, I will enable my organisation to move forward by involving everyone in the change while aligning with broader organisational goals. Huggins (2017) stresses the value of distributed leadership to enable my colleagues to be both a part of the change and the leadership in an effort to increase organisational capacity, as well as intellectual and social capital.
The Complexities of Managing Change for Tomorrow’s World
It is impossible to predict what society will value in tomorrow’s digital economy. The most pragmatic vision then is to accept what is happening today, and be open to the change that the future will inevitably bring.
Here is an out of the academic box thought:
In listening to Elliot Friedman and Jeff Marek’s 31 Thoughts National Hockey League (NHL) podcast, Friedman (2018, March 22) identified the necessity NHL leadership shunning the mantra of “that’s the way we have always done it”, and thereby being open to the changing nature of professional ice hockey in the 21st century. The same is true of conventional workplace environments. Those who are not ready and willing to adapt and shift with the tide risk being left behind, or in the case of digital change management, being left irrelevant.
Digital learning environments are complex systems, and change will affect all aspects of these systems. Digital leaders must recognise this. As such, approaches to strategy, internal structure, processes, people’s jobs, attitudes and overall culture, change can be neither quick or straightforward, but has to be more flexible and very well planned (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015, p. 251). As an effective leader in this context, being constantly aware of stakeholder interests and the changing reality of the digital environment surrounding your organisation is key. Likewise, being able to react to and sympathise with both potential barriers to change, and changing organisational needs is paramount for effective digital leadership in the 21st century.
References
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262.
Brown, D. (2017, June 26). The gig economy. SAGE business researcher. Retrieved from http://businessresearcher.sagepub.com/. doi: 10.1177/237455680319.n1
Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: A framework for improving organisational performance. The Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.royalroads.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/docview/1767544220?accountid=8056
Conway, R., Masters, J., & Thorold, J., (2017). From design thinking to systems change: How to invest in innovation for social impact. Royal Society of Arts, Action and Research Centre. Retrieved from: https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_from-design-thinking-to-system-change-report.pdf
Doyle, S., Hartlen, M., MacGregor, A., & Young, N. (2018). Next Steps Project Planner. Retrieved from: http://screenplayweb.com/rru/nextsteps/
Friedman, E., & Marek, J. (2018, March 22). 31 Thoughts: The Podcast. [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from: https://www.sportsnet.ca/590/31-thoughts-podcast/
Future [Digital image]. (2014, November 14). Retrieved from: https://www.gostrategic.org/bottom-line-archive/2011-the-year-of-uncertainty/attachment/future/
Hartlen, M. (2018, March 8). BYOD Project Management: The Journey that Never Ends. [Blog post]. Retrieved from: https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0011/byod-project-management-journey-that-never-ends/#more-592
Huggins, K. (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).
