As I reflect on leadership as we begin LRNT 525, I am learning more about what I admire in a leader and how my top-ranked leadership qualities align with my personal values. After completing a leadership characteristic ranking exercise, my top characteristics were inspiring, honest, supportive, caring, and competent. Most of these characteristics embody a human-centric approach to leadership which I can relate to my desire to be known and supported holistically, beyond who I am in a professional role.
The readings for this unit have given me insight into effective leadership practices while also providing a framework and language that reflect what I value in leadership. In particular, reflective leadership, in which self-awareness, mindfulness, and personal wisdom are integral to leading change and developing a culture of inclusion, safety, and trust, supports followers’ professional and personal development (Castelli, 2016). This approach to leadership resonated with me and is something I hope to explore and consider further.
‘Digital’ Leadership
I believe an adaptive leadership approach is necessary to be a ‘digital’ leader in a world where technology is ubiquitous and continuously influencing the way we live, work, and play. An adaptive leadership approach not only considers the changing environment but also the unique needs of individuals or followers, seeking to understand, support and motivate them to reach individual goals (Khan, 2017). As new technology emerges, a leader should be able to learn and adapt while including and supporting each follower in their learning and integration of new technology in their work. Not assuming digital literacy is important when adopting new technology or digital processes. Taking the time to introduce, train, and offer learning support is essential for successful adoption and effective use of time. In my own experience adopting new technology in my work setting, I have wasted many hours of my workday trying to figure out how to use new technology without formal instruction or support. This lack of training reduced my productivity while affecting my confidence to do my job effectively.
As technology is changing rapidly, a distributed leadership approach could also be beneficial to support effective digital learning and change in an organization. Although a distributed leadership approach assumes a level of risk, it can help build individual and organizational capacity (Huggins, 2017). For example, if there are people on a team with good digital literacy and an interest in developing their leadership skills, allowing them to help support their peers in adopting new technology would take the pressure off the leader while supporting leadership development and capacity in followers.
A good digital leader leans into innovation and sees the potential of new technology. The introduction of ChatGPT is an excellent example of a new technology that has many people wary. George Veletsianos looks at the reality of a technological innovation that is here to stay and encourages everyone to look at its opportunities and find ways to use it ethically and responsibly (CBC News, 2023). In my opinion, this example is the essence of good digital leadership.
Alternative Perspectives on Leadership
Lastly, I would like to draw attention to an alternative perspective on leadership. Indigenous perspectives offer a holistic and non-hierarchical approach to leadership that considers the past and the future when making decisions (Julien et al., 2010). We can learn a lot from this approach. It is crucial, concerning issues such as climate change, to consider how our decisions will impact future generations, not just those immediately impacted. I hope to learn more about this approach and how we can work together with the Indigenous community to make good decisions that consider history, future generations, and the interconnectedness of our systems.
References
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
CBC News. (2023, January 30). ChatGPT could help rather than hinder student learning, says B.C. professor. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6731105
Julien, M.H., Wright, B., & Zinni, D.M. (2010). Stories from the circle: Leadership lessons learned from aboriginal leaders. Leadership Quarterly, 21, 114-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.009
Huggins, K. S. (2017). Developing leadership capacity in others: An examination of high school principals’ personal capacities for fostering leadership. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.22230/ijepl.2017v12n1a670
Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A brief comparison. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 18(3), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i3.3294
Thank you Leah, I can relate to many of your observations in my own work as well, especially wasting time trying to navigate new technology without any formal training, and how frustrating that is! I also brought ChatGTP into my conversation by leveraging the characteristic “trust” as a desired quality needed to empower its use in respectful ways, I like how you have framed it in similar ways by highlighting the opportunity to use these new digital tools both ethically and responsibly.
I can’t recall if you were at the first sync session for 525, but Michelle introduced ChatGPT as part of the discussion in a very open and opportunistic way. I found that very respectful and trusting while imposing a forward-looking lens. Do you see opportunities to use ChatGPT at your work?
Hi Nicole – thanks for reading 🙂
Yes, I was at the first session and shared how I had used ChatGPT in my work that week to write an article for me! It was an interesting experience, and to be honest, I didn’t end up using much of what it wrote, but I used it to provide a framework for the points I wanted to touch on. The problem I found with it is that it used common language on the topic, but it is language that we have moved away from, so we are more inclusive and not instigating shame. This is an example of taking a critical approach to tech such as this. I would say our organizational approach to writing reflects empathy – something that AI lacks. I will say that using ChatGPT saved me a few hours out of my day, which is a win. I would definitely use it again.
Thanks for your post – you touch on a variety of leadership approaches that align well with digital learning environments, such as being adaptable, reflective and fostering digital literacy (and perhaps taking a personal critical approach to digital technologies). We briefly touched on this in our class discussion earlier in the week, but you also make the point here, that we should consider an indigenous, holistic, non-hierarchical approach to leadership, which considers the past and the future in decision making. You point to climate change as one issue where this approach might be necessary, but what about our approach to digital technologies? You mentioned ChatGPT and the questions it has already raised, and it reminded me of the writings of Audrey Watters where she talks about “EdTech Amnesia” and how we are constantly encouraged to forget about past mistakes and proclamations by the ed tech industry. How can we foster leadership in digital technologies that is more inclusive, takes a critical approach, and where we actually consider both the past, and the possible future implications? Here is a link to one of her keynotes: https://hackeducation.com/2020/11/11/forgetting
Thanks for the comment, Michelle and thank you for sharing the Audrey Watters keynote. It was an interesting read and a good reminder. It made me think about ‘amnesia’ not just in ed-tech but in other fields as well. My husband is doing his Masters at RRU as well, in Disaster and Emergency Management, and we have had many discussions about how decisions in that field also fail to consider past mistakes and act preventatively now for the future. It’s present in Government (and likely many other sectors). Have we built systems that make it hard to consider the distant future in decision-making? What does human behaviour have to do with not considering the past and the future in decision-making? We seem to be easily lured by ‘shiny’ innovation…