As I write this I’m currently learning how to use the Adobe Data Workbench and learn how to use a tool to get a deeper understanding of how to use and implement data. This timing is quite apt after working through LRNT525.
My initial reflection on leadership in Clemens (2019) did the job in getting me to look at leadership and see how I was approaching it. As you’ll see going forward my approach to leadership has remained the same but my approach to planning is what has really changed.
This reflection at the end of the course has me looking at where I started and where I’ve come to at the conclusion of the course. The course had a focus on leadership and project management. Through the course there was an evaluation of the different elements on how to work through and lead a group. In my initial post I discussed how I never sought power or even to move up in the organization which was something I reflected on as we progressed through this course.
I had the opportunity during this course to work with my team members on completing projects that had extremely tight timelines that were hard to meet. As the projects piled up it became clear that the person assigned the work was beginning to feel overwhelmed. That was where it become important that as a leader I took a look from the top and helped to organize the overall project. Previously this was something I had done regularly for myself but had not really worked on for a team member. The work done in this course and working as a team remotely was beneficial for me to see how one person taking control and leading can quickly take a project from unmanageable and slightly off track, back on track and running smoothly.
Creating the toolkit with Aartsen, T., Clemens, J., Fahrenbruch, A., Sidhu, D. (2019) was an extremely beneficial part of this course. It gave me an opportunity to really look at how we plan and how we will be implementing the things we do. The plan I created is actually going to be used to implement a tool within the school while connecting with multiple stakeholders.
Aartsen, T., Clemens, J., Fahrenbruch, A., Sidhu, D. (2019) Retrieved from https://commsproj.wixsite.com/commstoolkit
Clemens, J (2019). Retrieved from https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0051/reflection-on-the-principles-of-leadership/
March 31, 2019 at 12:28 pm
Great post Jeff!
It got me to think about the idea of unintentional or accidental leadership; not setting out to be a leader, but being able to offer a perspective or expertise that puts you into an unofficial leadership role. I was thinking that leading in this way stems from compassion as opposed to ambition, which aligns with concepts behind value-based leadership which suggest acting for the betterment of those who follow as opposed to out of ambition (O’Toole, 2008). I wonder how many of the leaders we admire found themselves in that position by accident?
References
O’Toole, James (2008). Notes Toward a Definition of Values-Based Leadership. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 1(1). Retrieved from https://scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl/vol1/iss1/10