Every day in our newsfeeds we see articles that herald headlines such as what good leaders are made of; the top five traits of successful leaders; or the three biggest mistakes leaders make. So, when I logged on to Moodle and began them, I was not sure what to expect. This was an area of study that was entirely new to me. After 15 years working in a nonprofit organization, I have seen many managers, supervisors and two CEOs (Chief Executive Officer) come or go and can remember many managers or supervisors that were reflective leaders and some who had the title of leader but did not lead. As I began to go a little deeper into the readings, I thought to myself rather than just understand the readings, I would try to internalize them through reflection and create my own examples alongside examples provided by the authors so that I could collect some of the gems I discovered along the way and share some of them in my practice. There were three readings that stood out and resonated with my experiences. Those readings were Castelli’s article Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance, Kouzes & Posner’s The characteristics of admired leaders; In Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it; and Julien, Wright, & Zinni’s Stories from the circle: Leadership lessons learned from aboriginal leaders.
Reflecting on these articles I realized that you cannot lead people you do not understand. The things that people are and what they want are always changing, making being a leader no easy feat. I too want to work for a company where I believe in the message being passed down from my top management team (Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. 2011). Increasingly most of my organization’s meetings, lesson delivery and professional development are held online. If we act without consideration and care, these digital environments can easily be isolating and impersonal. For those who were adept at leading before the digital shift, they have become even better leaders and those who struggled to lead have become less visible over the last two years. So as our organization adjusts and reevaluates, I think that if we are not understood or heard then as Kouzes & Posner state, we will not be able to commit ourselves to working harder and more effectively for just anyone. (2011) Do-as-I-say or invisible leadership cannot inspire.
Suddenly working in digital learning environments and being tasked with leading my followers who were already overwhelmed in a new country, with new jobs, a new language, and a new culture, I did not have the confidence to lead, and my fear was clearly palpable during my lessons. My organization was unable to provide guidance. A computer was dropped off at my door and a few books I could scan was the extent of my training to lead my new digital community. At that time, I had not yet applied for my masters at Royal Roads University, and I did not know what a learning management system was. I felt very strongly that a good online course would have a lot of dazzling platforms and that I had to use all the latest digital learning tools that were coming out every week to help all of us around the world who found ourselves working via Teams or Zoom but with the help of one true leader I came to understand that digital leadership is not about flashy tools (Sheninger, E., 2014). What was important was to create a safe, flexible, caring, and personal space for my followers to take risks and learn.
My leader who helped guide me through the pandemic was my manager, Sandra. Through listening and sharing what she saw, she was able to help me understand that flashy tools were not needed and that as Sheninger says digital leaders must give up control and trust students to use real-world tools to unleash creativity and a passion for learning (2014). A strategic mindset is needed that leverages available technology to improve our practice, while anticipating the modifications required to cultivate a school culture that highlights engagement and achievement. Every teacher has their own way and we do not need to do all things the same, is what she told me. This gave me confidence to start building my digital leadership skills. Finally, returning to my initial thoughts that you cannot lead people you do not understand, you cannot understand other people if you do not understand yourself. Leadership can grow out of the leader’s symbiotic relationship with technology but is not defined by it (Sheninger, E. 2014).
References
Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: A framework for improving organisational performance. The Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112
Julien, M., Wright, B., & Zinni, D. M. (2010). Stories from the circle: Leadership lessons learned from aboriginal leaders. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(1), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.009
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2011). The characteristics of admired leaders. In Credibility : How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it.
Sheninger, E. (2014). International Centre for Leadership in Education. International Centre for Leadership in Education. http://leadered.com/pillars-of-digital-leadership/
Photo Credit : Origamimii on Instagram
February 7, 2022
Hi Sam,
It was great to read your post. It was genuine, authentic, and so relevant. I absolutely agree with your point that you cannot lead people if you don’t know the people you are leading and certainly if you are lacking self-awareness. For me, that speaks of credibility as well. If a leader’s word doesn’t match his actions, then there is no credibility. Also, if a leader doesn’t know his or her audience, any message will not stick or be understood. I have a seen these situations so often in my career. For some leaders, when they are made aware, especially if it is a blindspot, they will adjust accordingly. There is a book I read many years year ago from Marshall Goldmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, and he speaks of leaders’ blindspot and self-awareness. In this digital world, it is especially important to be more intentional about words and actions that are relevant to those receiving the message.
February 11, 2022
Thank you Stephanie for reading and commenting on my post.
I feel that our last assignment together has really helped prepare me for our first assignment in LRNT 525. I remember you said that when creating our Digital Water Cooler Moments, that it was important for me to keep in mind that I did not need to “lead” and to be confident that by creating a level playing field and a space to share, leaders would spring up when needed and when their expertise and experience fit. I will Marshall Goldsmith’s, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Thank you for the recommendation.
February 7, 2022
Hi Sam,
Thank you for sharing. It sounds like Sharon is a very supportive leader which it seems to be a common thread among the cohort as being a necessary attribute for a leader.
You mention that “you cannot lead people you do not understand”. I’m curious to know that after the readings and reflecting, what strategies inform your practice to better understanding people? I have many experiences of working with new managers with no dental knowledge trying to aggressively implement change and failing because they did not attempt to gather the necessary information. For this reason, I do not consider these managers as leaders.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
February 11, 2022
Hello Gail,
That is such a great question and to be honest I would not have been able to answer it until only a few months ago. One of my colleagues used the term ” the Halo Effect”. She said that it was particularly important to make an incredibly positive and nurturing environment at the beginning and I added to that in trying to give substantial information about myself to put new followers at ease and feel they too could share more about themselves and that it was a safe place. I did not require them to share anything about themselves but created spaces large and small to feel more at home in our digital community. Some preferred the big room spaces, so they can proudly demonstrate their skills to the group and build upon that and others preferred smaller rooms/groups to make more intimate connections. Through these created spaces large and small I found most students saw the potential for sharing as an opportunity for all. I hope this makes sense as I have never verbalized this before.
Warmly,
Sam
February 8, 2022
Thanks for sharing your personal story about being introduced to online teaching (and very sorry to hear there was not much support to start) and the supports you have received to help change your own practice and understanding. In your post you highlight you shared that you realized “What was important was to create a safe, flexible, caring, and personal space for my followers to take risks and learn.” It reminded me of Emma’s post where she talked about how in educational settings everyone is a leader at some point – students lead students, teachers lead students and also other teachers. If we try to create the safe and welcoming spaces you outline, then that allows others to take risks, and also develop their own capacities for taking on leadership roles. I am not sure if you have yet encountered it in this program, but it brings me back to the Community of Inquiry model (http://thecommunityofinquiry.org/coi) and the importance of building in different opportunities for creating connections into our learning spaces. Though not a leadership framework, I think it provides a way of reflecting on our roles as educational leaders (and aligns well with reflective leadership) in our learning spaces.
February 11, 2022
Michelle,
Thank you for reading my post and sharing the Community of Inquiry Framework. I think I need to do more reflection on my leadership and the responsibility that goes with it. I think that I have always felt pressure and a desire to be a ” good teacher” but I have overlooked that being a good teacher includes being a good leader. Although a lot of these things overlap, I have not looked at it through that lens until very recently. Thank you for this, Michelle.
Sincerely,
sam
February 9, 2022
Hi Sam,
Thanks for sharing. I really resonated with your phrase “you cannot lead people you do not understand”. There is seems to be a difficult balance for some leaders to comprehend the details and focus on wider perspective. I’ve always respected how difficult it can be for new management to not make any changes for a while and better understand before altering.
February 11, 2022
Hi Zac,
We recently had a leadership change and I have noticed that he is using many of the principles we are currently studying. One model of change management that I have met during our Voices passages by Christie Boyce was ADKAR. I do feel that our new CEO is creating awareness and is, as you say, respecting how difficult it can be for new management not to act too fast until they understand better before altering. I am hopeful.
Warmly,
Sam