Leadership is a constant presence in our lives, shaping us from childhood through adulthood. Our first encounters with leadership often come from our parents—not just as caregivers but as role models who influence how we navigate the world. These early interactions shape our ability to handle adversity, resolve conflicts, and express ourselves. As we gain independence, our leadership influences expand to include friends, neighbours, and community members. The influences eventually include teachers, teammates, coaches, coworkers, and bosses. Each of these interactions contributes to our understanding of leadership and shapes how we engage with others.
It can be difficult to articulate the nuances between leadership and management. Leadership is often described as an art focused on inspiring and guiding change, while management is seen as a science centered on maintaining order, consistency, and using structured methods (Grimm, 2010). Management is the head and leadership is the heart. Both involve making decisions, building teams to achieve organisational goals, and ensuring tasks are completed effectively.
Ineffective Leadership
Ineffective leadership cultivates stress, erodes trust, and destabilises well-being and motivation (Jacobs, 2019). Dishonesty, hypocrisy, tyranny, and exploitation are some destructive leadership behaviours that can undermine the health of the leader-follower dynamic and lead to a hostile relationship as well as being counterproductive to the efficiency of organisational efforts (Jacobs). I have worked under leaders who prioritised control and self-aggrandisation over collaboration and transparency, dismissing innovation and feedback. I have seen talented, motivated individuals leave—not because they lacked ability, but because they could no longer tolerate being undervalued and unheard.
Effective Leadership
Leadership that balances motivation, inspiration, strong management, and strategic thinking fosters higher employee satisfaction, which directly enhances organisational effectiveness (Hurduzeu, 2015). Castelli (2016) and Khan (2019) found that effective leadership approaches embody human-centred values to respect and motivate followers while connecting them to organisational goals. They determined that followers are motivated by having involvement in decision making, engaging in open communication, and being provided with challenges beyond immediate rewards.
My Perspective on Leadership
My engagement with organisational structures has been shaped by my experiences with both ineffective and effective leadership. Studying leadership more intentionally has helped me make sense of my experiences—why I thrived in one organisation yet felt burned out and resentful in another.
Individuals don’t need to be bestowed with a position or title to be leaders. Julien et al. (2010) found that Indigenous perspectives on leadership are about responsibility, not as a vehicle for creating success for oneself—something described as “ego-less leadership” (p. 121). Regardless of title, we each play a role that contributes to a greater effort. Within that role, we can model leadership without a formal title endowment.
Wiseman (2010) spoke of “multipliers” as those who motivate and elevate those around them by recognising and amplifying the proficiencies and devotions in others. These are leaders who encourage and acknowledge their colleagues’ contributions—growing and extending others’ intelligence. These leaders seem to have a gift for not only building performant, satisfied teams but for attracting people who want to work alongside them. I have been fortunate to work alongside this type of leader and it is the type of leader I aspire to be.
Leadership in a Digital World
In a digital learning environment (DLE), leadership is even more challenging. The more digitally connected we become, the more disconnected we can become as people. We must bridge the digital gap with intent to foster our connections. I consider these leadership attributes to be the most important:
- Trust. Trust is the foundation of effective leadership, particularly in remote and digital environments where leaders must empower their teams without constant oversight.
- Value. People contribute their best work when they feel valued; recognising and celebrating contributions fosters motivation and engagement.
- Care. Leaders should acknowledge that people have lives outside of work and learning. Supporting work-life balance enhances well-being and productivity.
- Humour. Levity can diffuse tension, create stronger relationships, and reinforce the humanity of a team.
- Inclusion. Knowledge and intelligence are not the domain of an elite few; the best ideas come from diverse, collaborative efforts.
We can bring these intentions to all of our connections, inside and outside of DLEs. Leadership is a responsibility, not a title. A leader should not lord over their followers, they should sit at the same table. Whether in physical or digital spaces, the best leaders amplify the strengths of those around them. Effective leadership has a ripple effect—and ripples spread across a pond, not down a waterfall. I strive to model this kind of leadership—one that values trust, inclusion, and empowerment. If a former student or colleague reflects on the leaders who shaped their journey and thinks of me, then I will have led well.
References
Castelli, P. A. (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
Grimm, J. W. (2010). Effective leadership: Making the difference. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 36(1), 74–77. https://www.jenonline.org/article/S0099-1767(08)00399-1/abstract
Hurduzeu, R.-E. (2015). The Impact of Leadership on Organizational Performance. SEA–Practical Application of Science, 3(7), 289–293. http://seaopenresearch.eu/Journals/articles/SPAS_7_40.pdf
Jacobs, C. M. (2019). Ineffective-Leader-Induced Occupational Stress. Sage Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019855858
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
Khan, N. (2019). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A brief comparison. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(3), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i3.3294
Wiseman, L. (2010). Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (1st ed.). HarperBusiness.
Thanks for a thoughtful post, Stephen. First, I love that you started your post acknowledging that our earliest ‘leaders’ all help to shape who we become in adulthood. And, you brought it full circle at the end, reflecting on the impact you have had on your students’ experiences in learning. You also mention that you see leadership as a responsibility. When you consider your own core values, do you think leadership is one of them? You also acknowledge that leading in a digital learning environment is more challenging than outside of DLE’s. Since I am creating a DLE as an extension of our psych clinic, I’d be interested in learning more about what part of leadership in a DLE you feel is more challenging, beyond fostering connections and bridging the digital gap.
Thanks, Lara. I would not have considered leadership to be one of my core values but that may be changing. It may be becoming one. I am a spouse, an uncle, an educator, and more. I feel a responsibility to acknowledge that, then embrace the leadership modelling that those roles demand.
Leadership in DLEs is challenging on a couple of fronts. It can be difficult to find the right balance between pedagogical soundness and innovative engagement. Learning requires an investment of time but we are competing for the students’ attention in a distraction-laden world.
I also find it very challenging to encourage student engagement with asynchronous material. I try to design learning that limits long stretches of passive consumption (reading, videos) while providing a mix of interactive discussions, project-based learning, and gamification. I also encourage students to get together to ‘talk shop’ in informal contexts. If it goes well, they start casually talking shop with me.
Of course, gen AI has presented a huge challenge as well. Many see it as a shortcut to a result and either don’t care that they aren’t gaining knowledge, intend to catch up on the knowledge later, or feel that they actually gained the knowledge when they copied and pasted the result. I have honest conversations about AI: the risks, the benefits, and students know that I might ask them to explain their work to me.
I think another challenging aspect of DLEs is how quickly we can disengage from them, like turning off the TV when an episode is over and immediately switching focus to something else. In physical learning environments, class ends but you’re still at school: bumping into classmates, heading to the next class, still in that learning place and headspace. I try to mirror this in the DLE. If I find something interesting, I’ll share it with the class on Teams and try to get a discussion going. I’ll make a “Happy Friday” post, or I’ll do a mid-week check-in to spur a discussion. I try to foster a sense of place within the DLE.
Stephen