In this activity we are reflecting on our learning throughout this course. My perspective on leadership at the beginning of the course was that I was most-aligned with values-based leadership (O’Toole, 2008). This was the leadership theory that I was most aligned with of the theories we covered, and there are, of course, many other leadership theories. I have since come across servant-based leadership, and would describe my leadership perspective as leaning in this direction also (van Dierendonck, & Patterson, 2010). I have yet to come across a single leadership theory that defines my leadership philosophy.<\/p>\n
I do not think that my perspective on leadership has changed, but I have an improved ability to describe my leadership philosophy and compare and contrast it with theories in the literature.<\/p>\n
In my current role, I have led multiple, major learning technology implementations, and frequently lead smaller changes, all of which affect, and hopefully benefit, a large number of stakeholders. In the future I envision leading more learning technology implementations, and bringing my knowledge from past experience to continuously help improve outcomes. I believe leadership, project management, and change management all benefit greatly from experience, and that reading about theory by itself is only the first step. Also, theories are often idealistic and can clash with real-world realities such as limited time, limited resources, and concern for efficiency. For example, it may be nice to communicate regularly with all stakeholders, but in many projects this isn’t realistic.<\/p>\n
References<\/strong><\/p>\n O’Toole, J. (2008). Notes toward a definition of values-based leadership<\/a>. The Journal of Values-based leadership, 1<\/em>(1), 10.<\/p>\n