{"id":283,"date":"2025-02-02T19:49:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T03:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/?p=283"},"modified":"2025-02-03T10:33:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T18:33:52","slug":"leadership-reflections-by-leona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/leadership-reflections-by-leona\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Reflections by Leona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adaptability<\/strong> resonates with me as teams need to be supported and depend on their leaders and teams in times of change.\u00a0 This attribute was also at the top of the list in the article “Seven Pillars of Digital Leadership in Education, by Eric Sheninger.”\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Reflective leadership<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third attribute that underpins many areas within digital leadership is trust<\/strong>. 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empathy<\/strong> is another leadership superpower attribute.\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humility<\/strong> 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\u2014Chris Anderson’s article on the principles of Indigenous leadership and self-care in the academy shares this view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my final thoughts, there is a delicate balance between business outcomes and the personal connection of leadership.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson, C. (2024, December 11). Principles of Indigenous leadership and self-care in the academy.<\/em> Times Higher Edcuation.com. Retrieved January 2, 2025, from https:\/\/www.timeshighereducation.com\/campus\/principles-indigenous-leadership-and-selfcare-academy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Castelli, P. A. (n.d.). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organizational performance.<\/em> The Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217\u2013236. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/JMD-08-2015-0112<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2010). Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It<\/em>, 2nd Edition (2nd ed., p. 272). Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nakamura, Y. T., Milner, J., & Milner, T. (2022). Inclusive-Empathy in Leadership.<\/em> The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 58(1), 161\u2013163. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0021886320982022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheninger, E. (2022, August 31). 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership in Education. Hmhco.com\/Blog<\/em>. Retrieved January 2, 2025, from https:\/\/www.hmhco.com\/blog\/pillars-of-digital-leadership-in-education<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":306,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt525"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/306"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0281\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}