learning technology leadership

reflections on the Educause Institute Learning Technology Leadership program

The last week of June, I attended the Educause Institue Learning Technology Leadership program. This is an intensive, week-long workshop (that’s the best term I can think of it – it’s not a conference, it’s not training, and I don’t really think it’s a workshop, per se, either) on how to be an effective leader at one’s institution. It is aimed at those working in educational technology (instructional technology, teaching and learning, lots of other names), but it goes way out to how one might do presentations for new programs to executive officers, handling 6 or 7 figure budgets, and a number of other high level topics.

Overall, it was a very positive experience. But the real “meat” of this post is a bit more nuanced than simply whether I learned a lot or not. For instance, in terms of just leadership skills ranging from one’s team to one’s institution, there was lots to learn. But that’s not entirely why I attended.

As a CIO, I must admit I felt a bit out of place. But we don’t have an educational technology program so it’s not like there was someone else to send. And we want to start one up, so we did want to send someone. But, while I did have these very relevant reasons for being there, I definitely had a different perspective than most. To be honest, I think this caused a bit of…disconnection and possibly abrasion with my teammates. I am sure they are all gracious enough to disagree with me, but if I’m being truthful, I think at times my tendency to think about issues such as liability and institutional fit instead of creativity and pedagogical impact was a hindrance to overall productivity. I apologize to a great overall team for that.

When I signed up for the workshop, though, my key question was “is there something about leadership in learning/educational/instructional technology that is different than leadership in general?” (more…)

kaiyen July 15, 2013 Conferences, IT Leadership, Professional Development, Work-relatededucause, leadership, learning technology leadership, ltl13 0 Read more >

thoughts from educause LTL volume 3

So..I’m really tired, and this is going to be short, to be honest.

Last night my team worked on finishing the presentation we will make today to the “senior administrative leaders” that the LTL faculty will be “playing.” We are to pitch a specific idea, with implementation, budget, etc., that will address a strategic concern of a college.

Until last night, I have to admit that I haven’t felt completely at ease with our group. This is not a statement about the people, much less about any one person in particular. It’s about trying to form a team made up of people that have all come to a workshop designed to build leadership. This is a group here to become better leaders. Putting us in groups is going to cause some unease.

But there is nothing like a project, trying to make something concrete, to bring people together. As we worked together, our skills and strengths emerged naturally. Even more impressively, the way we offered to help just flowed. Someone would ask for help (I know I did several times) and others would start working on solutions. One person made headway, and ideas were thrown about, and we ended up with a great product. When we did a run-through, we all gave feedback equitably and fairly, and we have, I think, a solid product.

I don’t know what today’s reflection piece will be, but I know that last night’s collaborative experience will be the sticking point for me for the day.

kaiyen June 27, 2013 Conferences, Higher Education IT, IT Leadership, Professional Developmenteducause, educause institute, leadership, learning technology leadership 0 Read more >

thoughts from the EDUCAUSE LTL, volume 2

I a still at the Learning Technology Leadership program from the Educause Institute, and the latest reflection piece we’ve had is on leadership. Unlike the first assignment, this one was done in the morning, before getting on with the day. So it’s shorter.

We were asked to discuss how the first day’s discussion may have changed our views on leadership. My response follows, and additional commentary past the jump.

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While the concept of leading from within a group (rather than at the forefront) is nothing new, the discussion that stemmed from the governance committee model at Northwestern still struck a chord. Even at a small institution such as mine, where working with anyone means working with everyone, maintaining a steady focus on communications and sharing the ownership of knowledge and understanding is a powerful tool.

Unfortunately, this also takes a lot of energy. I am inspired by the prospects of what such shared communication can provide. Yet I am also concerned about the sheer amount of effort required to sustain such a program. At a larger institution, you not only have more resources in terms of number of people from your own organization to attend these meetings, but just more people in general. At a small institution, at some point, these committees are all the same people, and you have to watch for burn-out, disillusionment, and perhaps even annoyance with the process. That is completely counterproductive.

It will be a delicate balance and I will be adding “informal” to many of the names of these governance/communication groups, but it certainly has great impact, regardless of institution size. And that means it’s worth the effort, in almost any case.

(more…)

kaiyen June 25, 2013 Conferences, Higher Education IT, IT Leadership, Professional Developmenteducause, leadership, learning technology leadership, ltl 0 Read more >

thoughts from the educause learning technologies leadership program volume 1

Day 1 of the Educause Institute for Learning Technology Leadership came to a close last night. For just a half-day session, I am truly exhausted. I am also excited that such a dynamic experience will span the next 3.5 days. I’m sure I’ll get a lot out of it.

We are asked to reflect upon a specific topic each day. Last night, we focused on the results of our StrengthsFinders surveys. This tool, which I’ve used a few times now and find quite useful, tries to identify 5 strengths based on a big, long series of survey questions. They are actually statements, and you have to choose which one better describes you. For the most part, they are not opposed, which means it’s not easy to decide which one fits you best. So you make a decision that is a combination of logic, thoughtfulness, and gut.

Below is a slightly-edited (just tightened up) version of what I wrote in our internal Yammer group.