My Approach to Leadership
My approach to leadership is communicative, decisive, self-motivated, motivating, and visionary. I try to have open and honest communication that encourages the sharing of thoughts and opinions, especially if they are counter to mine. I am decisive, but also like to be participative in decision making when possible, as I find followers can have great ideas and are more likely to support a decision when they feel they actively contributed to it. I am very self-motivated and believe this is a necessary characteristic of successful leaders, otherwise, I believe they will be ineffective and lack vision. I think trying to motivate and inspire people is important and see myself as feeding people what they need to fuel their intrinsic motivation, which, according to Gillard, Gillard, and Pratt (2015), is autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy is the freedom to think and do as you wish. In this context, autonomy might mean giving people a lot of freedom to develop their own solutions to problems. Micromanaging may be seen, to some extent, as the antithesis of autonomy. According to Gillard et al. (2015), providing people autonomy will cause them to work harder and be more giving of themselves. Mastery can be seen as both the drive to obtain mastery at a task where there is sufficient motivation and the intrinsic motivation present when practicing a skill where mastery has been achieved. Purpose can include the purpose of the task or the greater purpose of the organization. A sense of purpose will lead to greater accomplishment, as it will inspire people to work to the best of their ability (Gillard et al., 2015). Connecting work to an organizational mission and showing appreciation for work, according to Castelli (2016), helps create purpose. A vision, according to Carton, Murphy, and Clark (2014), establishes a shared sense of purpose among followers, helping motivate and direct followers towards long-term goals.
Of the leadership theories we have looked at, the one that I think I am most aligned with is values-based leadership, which is described by O’Toole (2008) as acting on behalf of followers, helping realize the true needs of followers, and providing the environment for followers to succeed. A values-based leader, according to O’Toole (2008), also finds personal satisfaction by helping followers realize and attain their goals and potential. I enjoy helping others identify, work towards, and achieve their goals.
Most Important Leadership Attributes in a Digital Environment
I think the most important attributes of leaders when working in digital learning environments are their abilities to create safe environments, practice and encourage open communication, and both their knowledge and vision pertaining to the digital learning environment.
A safe, non-threatening environment, according to Castelli (2016), can motivate people and encourage them to discuss opposing views. A safe environment helps encourage intellectual risk-taking, which can improve motivation and learning (Beghetto, 2009; Clifford, 1991). An increased tolerance for risk may be found in a non-threatening environment, and, according to Huggins (2017), can lead to improved leadership.
Open and involved communication, according to Johansson, Miller, and Hamrin (2014), along with seeking feedback and participative decision making, are characteristics of a leader. Open communication is described by Castelli (2016) as allowing leaders to gain attention and trust from followers, while, according to Sidani (2007), it can lead to commitment to the leader and organization.
Knowledge and vision are key characteristics of a leader, as, according to Sheninger (2014), leaders must have breadth and depth of knowledge in the digital learning environment to identify and overcome obstacles, and the vision to create strategic plans that further transform the digital learning environment.
The Impact of Digital Technologies on My Leadership
Digital technologies require leadership with significant technological knowledge in order to both strategically plan ahead and respond to the quick pace of technological innovation (Sheninger, 2014). Digital technologies have provided me with more tools to be an effective leader. For example, there are many tools to enhance communication between leader and followers. I have a deep and broad technological background that aligns well with my leadership of digital technologies.
Theories of Leadership and Digital Learning Environments
Of the theories of leadership we have looked at, the theories of leadership that I think work best in leading change within digital learning environments are adaptive leadership and values-based leadership.
The technology used in digital learning environments can change quickly, and leaders need to be knowledgeable of the technology and be able to develop a strategic plan that adapts to the technological changes (Sheninger, 2014). Adaptive leadership allows leaders to adapt to changes in technology and the digital learning environment.
I believe values-based leadership will best motivate followers in most environments. In a digital learning environment, leadership could combine values-based leadership and adaptive leadership to both effectively motivate followers while also being flexible and responsive to sudden environmental changes.
Conclusion
Leaders, followers, and environments can vary greatly, so leadership needs to adapt to the individual leader, the followers, and the environment. Effective leaders motivate followers by feeding their intrinsic motivation through autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Environments are changing at more of a rapid pace now than in the past, and these quickly changing environments demand leaders with great knowledge and vision to lead effectively.
References
Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Correlates of intellectual risk taking in elementary school science. Journal of research in science teaching, 46(2), 210-223.
Carton, A. M., Murphy, C., & Clark, J. R. (2014). A (blurry) vision of the future: How leader rhetoric about ultimate goals influences performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1544-1570.
Castelli, P. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236.
Clifford, M. M. (1991). Risk taking: Theoretical, empirical, and educational considerations. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4), 263-297.
Gillard, S., Gillard, S., & Pratt, D. (2015). A pedagological study of intrinsic motivation in the classroom through autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Contemporary Issues in Education Research (Online), 8(1), 1.
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).
Johansson, C., D. Miller, V., & Hamrin, S. (2014). Conceptualizing communicative leadership: A framework for analysing and developing leaders’ communication competence. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(2), 147-165.
O’Toole, J. (2008). Notes Toward a Definition of Values-Based Leadership. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 1(1), 10.
Sidani, Y. (2007). Perceptions of leader transformational ability: The role of leader speech and follower self-esteem. Journal of Management Development, 26(8), 710-722.
Sheninger, E. (2014). Pillars of digital leadership. International Centre for Leadership in Education.