{"id":372,"date":"2022-02-06T19:28:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T03:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/?p=372"},"modified":"2022-02-06T19:28:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T03:28:12","slug":"a-reflection-on-leadership-an-ever-evolving-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/a-reflection-on-leadership-an-ever-evolving-study\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reflection on Leadership (An Ever-Evolving Study)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leadership is a term that fluctuates in definition based on who you ask. It is contextual in that it reflects the needs of the environment and those who belong to the community which it serves. It is reciprocal in that it requires members to partake in the journey toward a shared vision (Workman & Cleveland-Innes, 2012). It is both individualistic and collective (Senge, 2015). Leadership, therefore, is a complex and relational term, one that should not be compartmentalized nor constrained for a specific purpose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on leadership attributes has been an interesting endeavour, as I have negotiated multiple perspectives in order to reach my personal list of attributes (Frawley, 2022). My list began with an interrogative look into my last high performance coaching experience with a women\u2019s university team, and the type of coach they required for optimal team performance. While I attempted to reflect on my traits at that moment in time, I recognized that the attributes I had chosen were persuaded by the learning that had taken place between then and now, that I had allowed other experiences to weigh in. This reflection felt like an authentic revelation of the process of leadership: that it is not stagnant, it is not fixed, and it cannot be easily labeled. Leadership is alive in each leader in whichever capacity it reveals or manifests itself. Perhaps it is only truly known to be leadership when others perceive it to be true and necessary. True, because those who partake in being led (followers) embrace that they are a part of the journey. Necessary, because a means is only so good as it has an end to justify it. Leadership, like trust, is something that is cultivated and earned (Kouzes & Posner, 2011).<\/span><\/p>\n

In public education, specifically in Ontario, I believe a path forward to address inequities and to build inclusivity is through an Indigenous theoretical framework. I believe that an Indigenous lens to leadership is the tool that will dismantle the colonial education system, a system that has enshrined barriers to the racialized students it serves. If educational leaders are equipped with Indigenous worldviews of reciprocity and being in community with members (Julien et al., 2010), the much touted equity policies and aspirations for change will quickly follow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my view, a digital leader is one who can affect change, give purpose, can motivate and inspire both synchronously and asynchronously with their intended audience. This leader would evoke an Indigenous lens whereby leadership is in community or in relation with members, and have the ability to authentically connect students to their environment while in digital spaces. A digital leader who utilizes digital access as a means to affect change; a medium to address systemic inequities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, my current reality is much different from this utopian version. I have students at home recovering from COVID-19, piecing together information through distance learning. They do not receive synchronous instruction, rather a piece-mealed version of the day’s events. The access they have to me via the learning platform or through email is enough to narrow the gaps of information lost during an interactive activity or an in-depth discussion, but it will never be a recreation of the shared experience of learning that took place that day. I wonder if it ever will?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n<\/span>References<\/span><\/p>\n

Frawley, A. (2022, February 5). <\/span>Attributes of leadership: Team E. <\/span><\/i>Angela\u2019s Blog: A MALAT Student Blog. <\/span>https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/attributes-of-leadership-team-e\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Julien, M., Wright, B., & Zinni, D. M. (2010). Stories from the circle: leadership lessons learned from aboriginal leaders.<\/span> Leadership Quarterly, 21<\/span><\/i>(1), 114\u2013114. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/J.LEAQUA.2009.10.009<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2011). The characteristics of admired leaders. In Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. <\/span>https:\/\/royalroads.skillport.com\/skillportfe\/main.action?path=summary\/BOOKS\/43184#summary\/BOOKS\/RW$564:_ss_book:43184<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Senge, P. (2015, June 4). <\/span>What makes a great leader? <\/span><\/i>[Video]. Youtube. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1aYaj2-GZqk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Workman, T., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2012). Leadership, personal transformation, and management. <\/span>The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13<\/span><\/i>(4), 313-323. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.19173\/irrodl.v13i4.1383<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leadership is a term that fluctuates in definition based on who you ask. It is contextual in that it reflects the needs of the environment and those who belong to the community which it serves. It is reciprocal in that… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":203,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt525"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/203"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":373,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0204\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}