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I\u2019ve been in leadership roles and leading teams for the past 20 years and consider my journey as a leader \u2018in progress and<\/em> not there yet.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0 From my perspective to be a great leader there are several layers of leadership and a hierarchy of gratification to be fulfilled.\u00a0 This will develop over time through desire, drive, experience and education and when I get \u2018there\u2019<\/strong> it is not about the highest earnings, highest position or a prestigious job title, rather an intrinsic motivation fulfilled with the broadest and most diverse perspectives learned throughout my leadership journey making an impact and difference in whatever goals I set out to achieve.<\/p>\n Leading self<\/em>, leading teams<\/em> and leading organizations<\/em>, my experience and education has provided me opportunities to excel in these areas.\u00a0 Skills have been easier to obtain and develop, as many organizations focus on core, leadership and functional competencies that align with leading self, leading teams and leading organization.\u00a0 It has however been limiting to expand abilities within leading community<\/em> and leading globally<\/em> as many places I\u2019ve lead within haven\u2019t had communities, province, nation and global matters as a priority.<\/p>\n “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”\u00a0Naomi Khan<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n As a leader I would describe my leadership style as one that leads alongside my team and someone who pays little attention to title or position on an org chart.\u00a0 In the reading, Pillars of Digital Leadership, Sheninger said, \u201cleadership is about action, not position\u201d (p.1) and further defined leadership as a process of social influence and camaraderie to lean in the aid and support of others, in the accomplishment of a mutual goal and task (Sheninger, 2014).<\/p>\n TRUST<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Leadership is about team ownership and commitment, owning business problems and solutions interdependently for the greater purpose of the organizational vision grounded within the essentials of trusting relationships, openness, authenticity, transparency and honesty.\u00a0 \u201cA leader\u2019s ability to build trust in high-performance cultures is characterized by motivated and engaged employees\u201d (Castelli, 2016, p.222).\u00a0 Motivated and engaged employees have a greater desire to contribute and achieve excellence, excel in performance to indulge in meaningful and rewarding work.\u00a0 Motivated and engaged employees make it easier to lead change and transform as they feel part of a safe environment through trusting relationships. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Reflecting on activity one, my personal top 5 attributes of admired leaders and those I strive to demonstrate each, and every day are like the top 5 listed in the book called Leadership Challenge where they asked over one hundred thousand people around the globe to select seven qualities, out of twenty, that they \u201cmost look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction they would willingly follow.\u201d (Kouzes, J. & Posner, B., 2012, p.33-34).<\/p>\n I found great success in my leadership journey within my role as the Manager of the Learning & Development to implement digital learning transformation and change within my organization because I\u2019ve been able find meaning and purpose in my role as a leader to make an impact and real difference in the learning lives of our employees.<\/p>\n Through strong self-awareness, I\u2019ve been able to lead and support strategic priorities and large projects and align our departments contributions in the learning space directly with vision, mission, values, and culture.\u00a0 \u201cOne key role of leaders involves communicating visions and values that help followers understand the ultimate purpose of their work\u201d (Castelli, 2016, p.223).\u00a0 Being able to make the connection between ones\u2019 work and how it directly contributes to the organizations vision will motivate individuals as they are able to see how they make a difference.<\/p>\n Author, Patricia Castelli wrote about reflective leadership being a consistent and focused practice of reflection, which includes self-awareness, mindfulness and personal wisdom resulting in conscious awareness of behaviors, situations, and consequences with the goal of improving organizational performance (2016).<\/p>\n Part of my journey on self-awareness has been consistent reflection and practice of Insights Discovery, a psychometric tool and resource, I was exposed to early on in my career.\u00a0 This tool has helped highlight my strengths and weaknesses, values to the team I bring, personal communication do\u2019s and don\u2019ts, and my blind spots.\u00a0 Understanding myself and how best to adapt, connect and strengthen relationship with others who are different.<\/p>\n Being self aware of my tendencies and how I show up on a good day when things are going well and, on the flip-side, when overworked, overexerted and over stressed how those may show up, has helped elevate my self-awareness and be mindful of my judgement, behaviors and reactions.\u00a0 This has been advantageous when working with team members, leaders, key stakeholders, and decision makers to influence and get support through the era of digital learning transformation, whether it be to implement an LMS, engage in social learning communities through SLACK or facilitate soft skill training through virtual platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cSelf-awareness is central to reflective leadership and involves actively focusing on some aspect of the self instead of the external environment.\u00a0 By focusing on our own behaviors through candid self-evaluation, we can more accurately assess our strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 As a result, attempts to make positive improvements and meaningful change can occur\u201d (Castelli, 2016, p. 219).<\/p>\n As I continue my leadership journey,\u00a0 I will continue to lean in to my strengths as a reflective leader and develop new leadership qualities to support, lead and advocate for digital learning transformation.<\/p>\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n Castelli, P. (2016).\u00a0Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance<\/a>.\u00a0Journal of Management Development<\/em>,\u00a035<\/em>(2), 217-236.<\/p>\n Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2012),\u00a0The Leadership Challenge\u00a0(5th ed.)<\/a><\/em>, San Francisco Calif.: Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n\n
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\n Ranking<\/strong><\/td>\n Dorothy<\/strong><\/td>\n Leadership Challenge<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/strong><\/td>\n Inspiring<\/td>\n Honest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/strong><\/td>\n Honest<\/td>\n Forward Looking<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/strong><\/td>\n Intelligent<\/td>\n Competent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/strong><\/td>\n Supportive<\/td>\n Inspiring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/strong><\/td>\n Competent<\/td>\n Intelligent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n