For this task were asked to discuss our views on what we think are the most important leadership qualities of a leader in a digital learning environment (DLE). According to Peter Senge, leadership is the “capacity of a human community to shape its future”(Sarder TV & Senge, 2015, Minute 2:44). In the context of a DLE and higher education (HE) in which I work, I perceive this notion of leadership as a person or group of people who aim to support faculty and students to foster a supportive learning environment that prepares students for the real world by building their capacity to function in a technology-filled world.
Digital leadership is about embracing the current changes in technology and establishing the pathway for change that enhances “school culture through the assistance of technology” (para. 5) and anticipating sustainable changes that contribute to the school’s success (Sheninger, 2022). To me, digital literacy and fluency are essential attributes of leaders in a DLE because, in the context of education, digital leadership is the integration of a series of technologies, tools and instruments (Antonopoulou et al., 2020). Digital literacy is understanding how to use technology and digital tools, while digital fluency is about leveraging those tools to create new knowledge and solve new problems (Sparrow, 2018). One would have to understand the systems and technologies being integrated and be aware of the immediate and future impact of the decision they make regarding technology integration.
Without digital literacy and fluency, it is hard to imagine a leader in a DLE being forward-looking or competent in their role as a leader. Both qualities are rated in the top four qualities of admired leaders in several surveys conducted in 1987, 2002, and 2010 (Kouzes & Posner, 2011) and speak to elements of Sheninger’s (2022) 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership in Education . A leader in this context must be forward-looking and competent to implement these pillars and consider the sense of direction needed for the future. In this instance, competency is implementing sustainable change (Sheninger, 2022) and technological competency. It is also the competency to lead change in an educational setting away from the limiting traditional transactional leadership style Khan (2017) notes that we commonly see in HE and aim to change the traditional view of a learning space (Sheninger, 2022).
In my group’s discussion on admirable leadership qualities, we pondered the concept of competence and leadership. We considered it more of a managerial need/ value than a leadership quality; however, as I consider a DLE and the different environments I work in, the presence of digital literacy and fluency or lack thereof directly relates to what I feel is the competency of leadership. One has a team of professionals who specialise in digital learning and encourages faculty to enhance their professional practice working in DLEs. While the other has very few people on staff that are digitally literate or fluent despite offering programs in a DLE. The leadership focuses on increasing enrollment by offering online courses without the knowledge or training behind the differences between an in-classroom experience and a DLE or recognising that support and training are needed for the faculty. One institution considers the students’ future and prepares them for life beyond the classroom, while the other considers the number of enrolled students.
Other attributes closely tied to competency and forward thinking are intelligence and self-awareness, which are needed in leadership for a DLE. Admittedly, they were not attributes high on my list of leadership qualities in the class activity. Still, as I read more about reflective leadership, I believe it is directly related to digital leadership in DLEs because it “is needed to build cultures that expand human potential” (Castelli, 2016, p. 218). Aligning with earlier mentions of what digital leadership is (Sheninger, 2022). Furthermore, to be a reflective leader, one must have self-awareness (Castelli, 2016), while being reflective is part of the attribute of intelligence (Kouzes & Posner, 2011). Thus, I believe that intelligence and self-awareness are attributes needed by a leader in a DLE.
Lastly, I believe caring is a quality that is needed and closely tied to a forward-thinking leader in a DLE. I envision caring leaders in a DLE as concerned for their students and their future by seeking ways to provide them with opportunities and digital skills. To me, caring leaders find ways to provide a learning environment that fosters learning for all students and their challenges while preparing them for the real world.
References
Antonopoulou, H., Halkiopoulos, C., Barlou, O., & Beligiannis, G. N. (2020). Leadership types and digital leadership in higher education: Behavioural data analysis from University of Patras in Greece. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(4), 110–129. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.4.8
Castelli, P. (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
Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A brief comparison. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i3.3294
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2011). In Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Sarder TV & Senge, P. (2015, June 9). What makes a great leader? by Peter Senge, Author of The Fifth Discipline [Video]. YouTube . https://youtu.be/5wvJRL0a1Cg
Sheninger, E. (2022, August 31). 7 pillars of digital leadership. HMH. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/pillars-of-digital-leadership-in-education
Sparrow, J. (2018, March 12). Digital fluency: Preparing students to create big, bold problems. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/3/digital-fluency-preparing-students-to-create-big-bold-problems
Hi Gill,
Thanks for sharing! Your post gave me a lot of thinking about my workplace. Excellent point about the importance of digital literacy and fluency in a digital leader. Without them, it can be challenging to lead a team which focuses heavily on the technical side of things. This happens at my workplace that many competent and forward-looking leaders such as program managers don’t actually have digital fluency. They mostly depend on the subject matter experts and the project members to execute the work. As a follower, it is definitely ideal to work with a leader who possesses digital literacy and fluency, competent, and forward-thinking leadership traits. I think they are hard to find in my personal experience 🙂
Thanks again!
Megan
Hi Meagan,
Thanks for reading. Indeed, the ideal of what is needed and the reality of what we get from leadership are not always the same. A leader’s digital literacy or fluency does not need to be on the same level as an SME who is often doing the technical aspects of the work. However, I think they have to have enough knowledge in the area to understand the impact of decision-making and changes using technology. If the SME relays information, the leader needs to have a general understanding of what is being communicated to them.
Finding all those things in a leader is often difficult because the environment is changing so quickly, and what people may have been good at 5 years ago is not relevant in the same way despite follower need. The demands of the job change, but the support and recognition that those leaders need to learn and change don’t always come into play until it’s too late.
Hi Gill,
Interesting to read about your group’s discussion on ranking leadership characteristics here! Surprisingly, competence was one characteristic we didn’t touch upon at all in our group. In fact, competence and a number of other traits like intelligent and ambition were ranked near the bottom by my group as they were seen to be ones that are more focused on the individual. In contrast, others like “caring” and “supporting” were focused on working on teams. Upon further reflection, I have to say, ranking competence so low down for me is something I now question because competence is so necessary to move a team forward to achieving their goals.
Further, one of my colleagues raised the question about whether “intelligent” could relate to “social emotional” intelligence. You’ve also highlighted that here when you talk about being self-aware. That’s definitely a quality that leaders need to have and relates to being intelligent. Lots to ponder here! Thanks for the post 🙂
Hi Gill,
Thanks for your reflection and thoughts on your top attributes of digital leadership. Your discussion of the need for digital fluency in leadership within DL environments really resonated and I appreciated your contrasting of what that looks like within different organizations. I was reflecting on how important it has been for our direction at both TRU and RRU that we have leadership and vision around the care and concern for student data and agency and how that influences the kinds of learning environments and tools that are embraced. In both spaces, openness as a value, has been emphasized, and technologies that support this approach (through adoption of open, social technologies and platforms) are supported. This takes our leaders to have deep knowledge and digital fluency, underpinned by a care for students, that helps them advocate for not only the platforms and tools that help support open approaches and learner agency, but also for the teams that are needed for support.