Leadership is such a powerful entity, and “dipping our toe in the ocean” of models, approaches, and formulas this last week or so has brought many thoughts that have bubbled to the surface for me from my life path of navigating brutal leaders, embracing and creating lasting relationships with exceptional leaders, and being a leader myself.
Leadership means embodying the values we expect in others (Anderson, 2024). This blog post will share my perspective on leadership, what I value, and my thoughts on the most important attributes of a leader working in a digital learning environment.
I enjoyed the ranking exercise we did with our teams. We had many great discussions about the context and feelings of our past that shaped our decisions in the exercise. When considering how much change impacts every organization and business sector, more words/attributes should be on the list.
Adaptability resonates with me as teams need to be supported and depend on their leaders and teams in times of change. This attribute was also at the top of the list in the article “Seven Pillars of Digital Leadership in Education, by Eric Sheninger.” The author posits that, specifically towards digital leadership, there is a unique blend of traditional leadership attributes and an understanding of the impact of technology on culture and learning. Adaptability is ever present in this understanding as technology speeds and changes before our eyes, and we need to adapt to that.
Reflective leadership is a concept I have witnessed and engaged in throughout my career, and it improves relationships within the team and the objectives of the team and the organization if embraced. Reflective leadership is a conscious practice of self-awareness, mindfulness, and wisdom (Castelli n.d). These three ingredients mixed within reflective leadership work foster a motivated workforce and enhance the organization’s outcomes (Castelli, n.d.). This type of leadership’s safe and trusting environment reminds me of my past learning about psychological safety and intercultural inclusion within teams effectively.
The third attribute that underpins many areas within digital leadership is trust. It is so powerful for a leader to build trust, emulate it, and include everyone in that trust. It is essential to balance individual team members’ needs and the team’s well-being (Anderson, 2024). Leadership is about treating people how you want to be treated and building trust with them. If leaders do not show inclusion, honesty, support, and care, people will not be motivated to follow them (Kouzes & Posner, 2011).
Empathy is another leadership superpower attribute. Being inclusive and able to understand better and connect can lead to a more motivated workforce and improved organizational performance (Nakamura et al., 2022). Empathy is not sympathy; it is not feeling sorry for someone; it is standing with, listening, and holding space for someone as they move through a difficult decision, time, or experience (Nakamura et al., 2022).
Humility is a strong approach to connecting and supporting teams. Being a leader who can apologize for mistakes, learn from their team, lower their ego, and lead humbly resonates deeply with me—Chris Anderson’s article on the principles of Indigenous leadership and self-care in the academy shares this view.
In my final thoughts, there is a delicate balance between business outcomes and the personal connection of leadership. Adding strength in areas like humility, empathy, reflective practice, trust, and adaptability would help leaders develop more of the people side to ensure connections, increase motivation and team synergy with psychological safety, and achieve higher business outcomes.
Anderson, C. (2024, December 11). Principles of Indigenous leadership and self-care in the academy. Times Higher Edcuation.com. Retrieved January 2, 2025, from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/principles-indigenous-leadership-and-selfcare-academy
Castelli, P. A. (n.d.). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organizational performance. The Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2010). Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, 2nd Edition (2nd ed., p. 272). Jossey-Bass.
Nakamura, Y. T., Milner, J., & Milner, T. (2022). Inclusive-Empathy in Leadership. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 58(1), 161–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886320982022
Sheninger, E. (2022, August 31). 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership in Education. Hmhco.com/Blog. Retrieved January 2, 2025, from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/pillars-of-digital-leadership-in-education
February 3, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Hi Leona,
Thanks for your post – in your section on empathy you highlight that “Empathy….is standing with, listening, and holding space for someone as they move through a difficult decision, time, or experience (Nakamura et al., 2022)” and it made me think about how some of the best leaders I have worked with have been able to to support me in this way during more difficult times. As you highlight these personal connections are so important and a leader who can listen and create space for their teams to feel safe moving through more challenging times will build trust and hopefully motivation. In my own leadership practice, slowing down and really listening has been something I have been working on. I am looking forward to reading the Nakamura resource you referenced – it is a new one for me.
February 4, 2025 at 9:09 am
Hi Michelle,
thank for taking the time to share your thoughts. Empathy is a high Emotional Intelligence dimension that is so important in leadership and I like you, value and still have mentoring relationships with the leaders that stood beside me, listened, maybe didn’t have all the answers but didn’t leave me to struggle. When an organization is in difficult change transition and emotions are high a leader that can leverage empathy is so powerful.
February 4, 2025 at 8:44 am
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
If “leadership means embodying the values we expect in others,” what do you think it means when leadership lets us down, or worse, betrays us? Why does that cause a reaction within us?
I agree that leadership is tightly coupled to trust. How have you seen trust violated in a leadership scenario? I experienced trust being broken through a financial bait and switch. An agreement was made between my manager and me to share the cost of some training. I registered and footed the bill and when I sent the invoice to my manager, they refused to honour or even acknowledge their commitment. I ate the cost (and it was high) myself, and the trust was permanently fractured.
February 4, 2025 at 9:06 am
Oh Stephen…It definitely causes this reaction and is difficult to build back or maybe not ever. This is hard to get over especially when it feels so blatantly disrespectful and dishonest in their words. As leaders we need to be transparent, accountable, empathetic, and respectful in order to build any trust, and even if we are leading with these attributes we will still have some on the team that may have been “tainted” by previous leaders that shakes their trust in any kind of leadership. For you I would think if you ever had a leader again who told you learning would be paid for, that you would go through the motions now to get it in solid writing and signed off in order to believe it. I am so sorry that happened to you, of course the learning itself is reward, but the financial hit of education when you are relying on pay back can devastate an individual or family.