Tag: leadership

Final Reflections – LRNT 525 Unit 5 Activity 1

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This is truly a final reflections blog for me as I have completed the Grad Diploma program.  Based on this, I am going to talk not only about the course, but the program as a whole in this final reflections post. 

Has my perspective changed?

Within this course, I feel that the information and discussions regarding change management and analytics have given me some new lenses with which to study situations.  Coming in to the course, I was unfamiliar with change management.  This is clear in my first post when I said, “I trial or pilot new technology in a specific context first before applying it to every course.  This allows us to focus on ensuring that the pilot is successful and allows the opportunity to capture lessons learned before a wider role-out” (Weaver, 2018, para 6).  I now realize that this is also an example of creating small or quick wins as described in Kotter’s (2012) change model.  This is an area that I would like to continue to research and explore on my own to add more tools to my leadership toolbox. 

Coming in to this course, I was very familiar with performance metrics as I have been responsible for them during several of my postings, but I have never seen them implemented in a way that provides value.  Therefore, I am always sceptical of performance measurement and the additional workload it can add to a system with seemingly little benefit.  However, when faced with the excellent examples in Sclater, Peasgood, & Mullan (2016) showing the innovative way many organizations are using performance metrics to achieve success, my perspective changed.  Based on this inspiration, I am looking forward to developing a training-specific performance metric in my own organization.  Additionally, I have enjoyed picking up some tools such as weaving and a little more knowledge about the capabilities of interactive .pdfs. 

Over the last year, the program has not only developed my knowledge of instructional design, but it has sparked a passion in me for active learning and engagement.  I am lucky to be able to apply this in my current job and as a sideline to help instructors I know improve courses. 

In your current role, how can you help lead a change within your organization?

My passion for active learning and engagement is helping me lead change in my organization – developing our courses with this in mind.  This is a change for my organization and I am approaching it somewhat slowly, keeping the quick wins in mind!  I have a meeting coming up shortly where we are pitching the course redesign concept for a five-day course that is currently running.  At the moment, the course has no activities or engagement (other than students asking questions) and is composed of thousands of slides of powerpoint (I am not exaggerating).  We are proposing something with more engagement opportunities and demonstrating three complete activities during the proposal (showing all the tools the instructors will have to run the activities).  The involvement our stakeholders have had so far in generating ideas and the solid materials that we have to present makes me optimistic that they will accept the proposal.  I am leading change by developing relationships with stakeholders and helping them change from a “sage on the stage” mentality to one where they look for engagement opportunities. 

What can you envision doing in the future?

There are so many things I would like to do!  To list a few:

-Use my new knowledge to create engaging human factors courses (hopefully at the University level)! 

-Help redesign or design courses to support engagement and active learning (act as an instructional designer)!

-Mentor instructors in instructional techniques!

-Develop professional development mini-courses for instructors!

-Explore e-learning software!

-Finally, spend more time with my kids and husband!  This year has been fantastic, but they have been incredibly supportive of me working weekends and evenings to complete it.  Now they deserve more of my time and focus!

So, next, it’s time for family, some camping and more exploration and learning at a little more leisurely pace!    

Thank you to all of my fellow students!  It was a pleasure learning with you!

References:

Kotter, J. P. et. al. (2012). Leading Change : Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, (June).

Sclater, N., Peasgood, A., & Mullan, J. (2016). Learning Analytics in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/aehe.20121

Weaver, L.A.  (2018, February 11).  Personal leadership – assignment 1 LRNT 525.  [blog post].  Retrieved from https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0037/personal-leadership-assignment-1-lrnt525/

External Scan – Assignment 2 LRNT525

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Figure.  Three Perspectives on Leading Change in a Digital Learning Environment.  Images retrieved and adapted from: “Wikimedia Commons” by Ebaychatter0, 2012 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_777.svg); “Icons website” by Icons 8, n.d. (https://icons8.com/icon/23318/graduate); and “Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus” by Powerpoint, 2016.  In the public domain. 

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“The legacy of the leader’s influence is perpetuated through the followers’ incorporation of legacy principles into their lives as they become leaders” (Castelli, 2016, p. 220).  By understanding how leaders addressed situations involving change in digital learning environments, it is possible to learn from their approach to successfully address leadership challenges.  Through the study of three perspectives on leading change in digital learning environments discovered through interview, it was apparent that there were commonalities that lead to successful change. 

Despite the different roles of interviewees, all three clearly and correctly annunciated the vision or goal of the change.  Based on this, it was obvious that leadership had developed and communicated a clear vision.  Unsurprisingly, this strongly aligns with literature which identifies a clear vision as a requirement for successful change (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015; Kotter, 2012). 

The three interviewees identified different change initiators.  The replacement of a college’s Learning Management System (LMS) was advocated for by the student body after consistent failures in the legacy system.  A group of advisors and a Commander were identified as the initiators in the creation of learning support centers.  The third interview identified changes initiated by various groups: stakeholders, the Air Force technical training team and Commanders.  Literature describes the benefits of change initiation from multiple levels (Moran & Brightman, 2000; Morrison & Phelps, 1999; Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff, & Blume, 2009; Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014), indicating there is support for change initiation from a variety of groups depending on the situation.  This is especially true in the digital learning environment where leaders may not have daily contact with users of a system, so may not realize if a change is required.    

Regardless of the initiator, influence tactics can be used at all levels to alter ­­the details of the change implementation or modify the change itself (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014).   When first discussing change, Uhl-Bien et al. (2014) suggests that “follower inspirational appeals and consultation were most effective” (p. 94).  Both these approaches were highlighted in the examples where stakeholders either lead the projects or were consulted during the change process and where the leaders of the project emphasized presenting conditions as compared to predicted conditions following the change.  Followership theories of leadership specifically focus on “how engaged followers can act as agents of change” (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014, p. 91) and how participation in the change process can enhance change development and implementation (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).  When describing the consultation that occurred, two of the interviewees specifically identified modifications to the change or change implementation following the consultation, demonstrating the value of consultation as it relates to the digital learning environment as a motivational factor (Fullan, 2007), as well as a significant contribution to a successful implementation plan and change (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015). 

Although it was only explicitly stated in one interview, setting the conditions to ensure future success would have been a major consideration for all the leaders involved in overall project management as all of the changes were meant to be long-term (Moran & Brightman, 2000) and interoperability is important in the digital environment. 

Leveraging success was specifically highlighted in two of the interviews.  When learning support centers were created, the financial savings from early collaboration was publicized.  Some specific projects such as the aircraft marshalling simulator were promoted as examples of successfully leveraging technology in military training to decrease costs and increase capability.  Leveraging success is present in many change models such as Hamel’s insurrection model (win small, win early, win often), Kotter’s Leading Change Method (plan for and create short term wins) and Davenport’s process reengineering (communicate ongoing results of the effort) (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).  These models use early wins to increase the credibility of the change and motivate people to commit to it (Kotter, 2012) as well as allowing stakeholders to compare the predicted conditions to the presenting conditions. 

Despite the similarities in these three approaches, it is crucial that leaders study and react to each situation individually as what worked in one situation may not be applicable in another (Fullan, 2013).  However, the examples studied have shown that in general leading change in digital learning works well when leaders develop and communicate a clear vision which informs change.  Change can be successfully initiated from any level with stakeholder input.  Key challenges such as convincing stakeholders of the return on investment and setting conditions for future success can be overcome by leveraging successes and emphasizing presenting issues. 

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. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0215

Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112

Fullan, M. (2007). Understanding Change. In John Wiley & Sons Inc (Ed.), The jossey-bass reader on educational leadership (2nd ed., pp. 169–181). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Wiley.

Fullan, M. (2013). Neither Theory nor Action. In M. Grogan (Ed.), The jossey-bass reader on educational leadership (3rd ed., pp. 207–219). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Wiley.

Kotter, J. P. et. al. (2012). Leading Change : Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, (June).

Moran, J. W., & Brightman, B. K. (2000). Leading organizational change. Journal of Workplace Learning, 12(2), 66–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620010316226

Morrison, E. W., & Phelps, C. C. (1999). Taking charge at work: Extrarole efforts to initiate workplace change. Academy of Management Journal, 42(4), 403–419. https://doi.org/10.2307/257011

Podsakoff, N. P., Whiting, S. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & Blume, B. D. (2009). Individual- and Organizational-Level Consequences of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 122–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013079

Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R. E., Lowe, K. B., & Carsten, M. K. (2014). Followership theory: A review and research agenda. Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.007

Image attribution for graphics used in infographic:

Ebaychatter0. (Artist).  (2012).  Boeing 777.svg [Digital image].  Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons website: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_777.svg

Icons 8.  (n.d.).  Graduate icon in flat style [Digital image].  Retrieved from icons website:  https://icons8.com/icon/23318/graduate

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Computer [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Three people [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

PowerPoint 2016. (Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus).  Person with screen [Digital image]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.

Personal Leadership – Assignment 1 LRNT525

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In my leadership experience, digital technologies have been an enabler.  It is important not simply to use technology, but to leverage it for a purpose:  to improve efficiency or effectiveness or provide new capability or capacity (Bates, 2015; Hartsell & Wang, 2013).  Leaders are responsible for ensuring success when implementing new technology, but they also play a large role in determining to “what extent technology is integrated” into the workplace or classroom (Mahoney & Khwaja, 2016). 

Since joining the military almost 19 years ago, I have taken on a variety of leadership roles, each requiring a different approach.  The leadership style that I have used has changed as I gained more experience, became more comfortable as a leader (Spencer, 2018) and reflected on how I could improve my leadership (Castelli, 2016).  Despite these changes, I have consistently relied on the twelve principles of leadership (CFLI, 2007) taught in Basic Training and continually reinforced throughout my career.  Regardless of the leadership approach taken, principles of leadership remain the constant foundation.   

My leadership approach

Relatively early in my career, I lead an organization of 120 people as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer.  Leading in this role was relatively simple as the mission (ensure aircraft were available to meet the flying schedule) and my position and role in the organization were all very clear.  My leadership at that time was supported by my position and rank, what O’Toole (2008) calls power, as despite my technical knowledge, I had very little experience leading people.  Luckily, this was a developmental position and I had several very knowledgeable senior non-commissioned officers to support me.  So although I was technically their boss, we approached leadership challenges as a team, what O’Toole (2008) denotes as shared leadership.  This command team approach which encourages a form of shared leadership is present throughout the military (Guy, 2010).  In addition to a shared leadership approach reinforced by position and rank, I conveyed my support for suggestions from technicians relating to more efficient or effective ways to achieve the mission.  I then ensured that good suggestions were embodied.   My support and actions were the beginnings of a transformational approach to leadership (Vermeulen, Kreijns, Van Buuren & Van Acker, 2017).  This approached encouraged one of the maintenance technicians to bring forward the idea to purchase large SMART boards that could be used to display detailed schematics for trouble-shooting faults and teaching more junior technicians about the systems.  I coordinated the purchase and associated training and the organization immediately saw success as groups congregated around the boards troubleshooting, teaching and learning. 

Almost 15 years later, I now lead a smaller team of just four full-time employees and three part-time students as the Airworthiness Training Team Lead.  However, my current role requires far more leadership ability as most of my work requires influencing people outside of my team including contracted resources, personnel within other organizations, course instructors, other team leads and section heads.  I approach each situation slightly differently, modifying my approach based on the individuals involved, the goal or objective and other situational factors which denotes a situational style (O’Toole, 2008).  However, to the greatest extent possible, I leverage a combination of distributed leadership (Huggins, 2017) and transformational leadership (Vermeulen et al., 2017) both within my team and outside of my team.  By ensuring that I share with others a clear vision and support innovative execution including risk taking, I am able to leverage resources outside of my team to participate in and lead projects (Hartsell & Wang, 2013). 

I have leveraged technology in this role to enable communication between team members spread out across the country, meaning we can hire very specific resources with particular specialty knowledge.  Without leveraging digital communication methods, completing course design using these specialists would not be possible.  Additionally, I have leveraged available online courses to provide specific training to my part-time students.  Using these in combination with mentorship and a training package that I developed has allowed them to become effective very quickly.  We have also used sharepoint surveys to implement Kohn’s 2+2+2 booster method (2014), combining the use of technology with the test effect (Larsson Sundqvist, 2017) to ensure our students retain course material long after the course is completed.    

Leading change in a digital learning environment

The literature identifies empowerment of others and support of risk taking as key leadership characteristics in leading change in digital learning (Huggins, 2017; Hartsell & Wang, 2013).  Despite this, I trial or pilot new technology in a specific context first before applying it to every course.  This allows us to focus on ensuring that the pilot is successful and allows the opportunity to capture lessons learned before a wider role-out.  Supporting risk, but also managing and mitigating risk is important to successfully leading change and is supported by the leadership principles, “motivate by…sharing risks and…learn from experience” (CFLI, 2007, p. 10). 

It is also important for leaders in a digital learning environment to model the use of technology (Creighton, 2003; Hartsell & Wang, 2013; Mahoney & Khwaja, 2016).  Although I don’t have all the new gadgets, I never pass up the opportunity to try out a new learning application or tool and I enjoy reading new research.  The leadership principles “achieve professional competence and pursue self-improvement…and…lead by example” (CFLI, 2007, p. 10) support the practice of modeling the use of technology. 

Based on my experience, it is also very important to ensure that technology is leveraged to create an advantage that maintains or improves communication (Sheninger, 2014).  A leader can not be effective without a good understanding of the requirements of their follower and a way to communicate their vision (CFLI, 2007). 

Conclusion

The technology leader should “manage, plan, implement, and evaluate the technology’s effectiveness in serving various purposes” (Hartsell & Wang, 2013, p. 1).  A leader working in a digital learning environment must empower others, support risk taking, model the use of technology and ensure communication is maintained or improved. 

References:

Bates, A. W. (2015). Teaching in a digital age. BC Campus.

Canadian Forces Leadership Institute (CFLI).  (2007).  Leadership in the Canadian Forces.  Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/dn-nd/D2-313-3-2007-eng.pdf

Castelli, P. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236.

Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Corwin Press.

Guy, S.  (2010, November 3).  The command team:  a key enabler.  Canadian Military Journal.  Retrieved from http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo11/no1/12-guy-eng.asp

Hartsell, T., & Wang, S. (2013). Introduction to Technology Integration and Leadership. In S. Wang, & T. Hartsell (Eds.), Technology Integration and Foundations for Effective Leadership (pp. 1-17). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2656-0.ch001

Huggins, K. S. (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).

Kohn, A.  (2014, May 15).  Brain Science: Enable Your Brain to Remember Almost Everything.  Retrieved from https://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1423/brain-science-enable-your-brain-to-remember-almost-everything

Larsson Sundqvist, M. (2017). Effects of retrieval and articulation on memory (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University).

Mahoney, K. R., & Khwaja, T. (2016). Living and Leading in a Digital Age: A Narrative Study of the Attitudes and Perceptions of School Leaders about Media Literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 8(2), 77-98.

O’Toole, J. (2008). Notes toward a definition of values-based leadership. The Journal of Values-based leadership, 1(1), 10.

Sheninger, E. (2014). Pillars of digital leadership. International Centre for Leadership in Education.

Spencer, C.  (2018, February 5).  Activity 1 FlipGrid Summary.  [Blog post].  Retrieved from https://moodle.royalroads.ca/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=454125

Vermeulen, M., Kreijns, K., Van Buuren, H., & Van Acker, F. (2017). The role of transformative leadership, ICT‐infrastructure and learning climate in teachers’ use of digital learning materials during their classes. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(6), 1427-1440.