While Google’s dominance appears certain, educational leadership does not. It would be nice to think that merely using Google’s tools would help one be a better leader. Certainly, as an edtech advocate, I like to think that have access to social media tools would make communicating and collaborating easier…and isn’t better communication, increased collaboration a critical part of being a leader?
Pete Reilly (EdTech Journeys) makes the following remark in response to my blog entry about 5 Google-Powered Leadership Expectations:
Miguel.
“Improve Education Leadership in the Age of Google?” Who declared this the Age of Google?But I digress…Nothing I see in the outline addresses improving the leadership of administrators. I see tasks that improve the tools they use.
If I am an administrator that is a control freak, a micro-manager, or the opposite (no followup); if I am a an administrator that doesn’t take responsibility when things aren’t going well but takes all the accolades when things go well, if I am afraid to take risks, or if I am a political animal that wants to look good above all; if I am someone who is super judgmental and negative about the people I work with, if I talk behind people’s backs, if I am not organized, if I don’t listen well, if I am motivated only by my own agenda, if I say one thing and do another…(the list goes on)…I respectfully submit that the items on the Google list miss the mark.
An ineffective leader using the latest tools will remain an ineffective leader.
In my experience developing leaders requires developing people.
If we are going to transform teaching and learning, we need a new generation of innovative and transformative leaders.
in gratitude,
pete
As I consider Pete’s words, I keep coming back to the statement he makes highlighted in bold. Leadership flows from knowing, not how to use the latest tools, but developing people. Yet, what happens when leaders do not know how to develop people, or are unwilling to be “developed” themselves? How do they learn how to do everything, as the Hadza do while digging for tubers (Reference to The Leadership Dojo) including use of the tools?
If everyone needs to know how to do everything, is there any reason for administrators to not learn how to use the latest tools, even though their grasp of develop people may be imperfect?
In his book, The Leadership Dojo, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, shares 3 broad categories that encompass leadership capabilities:
- Intelligence
- Technical skills and knowledge of his or her industry
- Being a particular kind of person or self
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Miguel,You're correct that having leaders learn the tools is not a bad thing. My concern is with the proliferation of courses and programs that are billed as 'Ed Tech Leadership' that are nothing more than exposure and training on tools, not leadership.Will we ever transform education if we keep focusing on the 'bright, shiny things' and keep ignoring the difficult task of developing leaders? Not managers. Not supervisors. Not administrators; but Leaders.It's not an either-or issue. We need real leadership development and we need leaders who understand and use technology. Where are these leaders going to come from? Is it any wonder that major educational change is so slow in coming? It's time for us to get serious about leadership. Effective leadership is very rare. It doesn't have to be.pete
Miguel,You're correct that having leaders learn the tools is not a bad thing. My concern is with the proliferation of courses and programs that are billed as 'Ed Tech Leadership' that are nothing more than exposure and training on tools, not leadership.Will we ever transform education if we keep focusing on the 'bright, shiny things' and keep ignoring the difficult task of developing leaders? Not managers. Not supervisors. Not administrators; but Leaders.It's not an either-or issue. We need real leadership development and we need leaders who understand and use technology. Where are these leaders going to come from? Is it any wonder that major educational change is so slow in coming? It's time for us to get serious about leadership. Effective leadership is very rare. It doesn't have to be.pete
Wow! I had a conversation about this with another co-worker just today. You (and Pete) are absolutely right in that ineffective leaders will always be ineffective if they themselves are not willing to change. Same goes with teachers. Ineffective teachers will always be ineffective if they are unwilling to change.
Wow! I had a conversation about this with another co-worker just today. You (and Pete) are absolutely right in that ineffective leaders will always be ineffective if they themselves are not willing to change. Same goes with teachers. Ineffective teachers will always be ineffective if they are unwilling to change.
Hi Miguel,Good post, but let me ask you a question. Does having the latest and greatest hammer make one a better carpenter? I think the answer is no. While betters tools can make jobs easier, they do not make leaders. I think that if you changed the word from leader to facilitator the article would be better. And while there is an overlap between leader and facilitator, they are not synonyms. But, good food for thought.Thanks for giving my brain a little cardio…Seth Anderson
Hi Miguel,Good post, but let me ask you a question. Does having the latest and greatest hammer make one a better carpenter? I think the answer is no. While betters tools can make jobs easier, they do not make leaders. I think that if you changed the word from leader to facilitator the article would be better. And while there is an overlap between leader and facilitator, they are not synonyms. But, good food for thought.Thanks for giving my brain a little cardio…Seth Anderson