Other reflections from other LTL13 attendees

Wanted to share this link to another very talented LTL13 attendee...  Good to see you April.

http://aprilpierson.blogspot.com/2013/07/educause-learning-technology-leadership.html

Reflections on the week

We've got to...

Create an environment of trust and let the strengths of the individual and the team to come out.  We all contribute in different ways to a given project and we have to trust that everyone has a clear grasp of the goal and the vision.

"The best way to be a leader is to first be a follower."

"Find that balance in our personal and private lives to make us a better leader." 

Must be reflective on my strengths... we must:

- Focus on sustainable change

- Value self-awareness, self-esteem, self-efficacy

- Strive for clarity, vision and integrity....

Keep Calm and Be Leaderful

Developing a presentation to institutional leaders

When developing a presentation for college administration 

- Know your audience!

- Have good time management

- Be sure make your selling points in the beginning and the summary at the end

- Should have a chart that clearly outlines budget expenditures

- Use a quick and compelling graph to get your idea across

"Develop a pilot program that uses existing resources and based on gathered data request additional funds."

. 

Top Ten Personal Takeaways from Learning Technology Leadership Day 3

Image from Flickr user iabusa, http://www.flickr.com/people/47619880@N04/

Another day, another leadership marathon.

Here are some of my takeaways.

1) This is a comprehensive and solid leadership program. I recommend this to anyone in IT who is interested in IT leadership in higher ed. It is specifically tailored toward higher ed IT leadership, and it picks up on the unique nuances of operating in this environment. 

2) Gather the data and be proactive. It is very clear to me that I must be gathering whatever data I can on a regular basis and do some quarterly reporting and visualizations. This will help me in understanding my resource usage, and also bring up new opportunities and questions that will help me in budgeting and efficiency. 

3) Build relationships. In any job, but especially in higher ed, this will be your greatest challenge and asset. Put the time in and get to know some great people who you have been wanting to spend some time with. Find ways to work with them and help them with their goals. 

4) Tell your story. I've been working on some pretty innovative projects with my student management, developing my data center, digital badge exploration, BYOD for mobile field data collection, etc. I need to do a better job of communicating these stories to people, and sharing with others across the country. What does this mean? More time on the blog. Make it a priority. 

5) Suggest to some faculty and deans the idea of a reading group. There are many great texts about the state of technology in education today.  

6) Budgeting. Always be ready with your budget numbers and gain a sense of what things cost in case you are quickly asked for a proposal and need to produce. Maintain a prioritized list of projects ready to go. 

7) Be ready for accidents. Be prepared for whatever opportunity might come your way. 

8) Seek out mentors. Spend time with people you admire, and help them improve in whatever way you can.

9) Read. Read. Read. There are some great texts out there. Continue individual reading and book club. 

10) Finish the PhD. This may have to be a priority this year.

Well, that's the list.

One final takeaway that struck me. This article, by Barr and Tagg, really captured the shift that is happening in today's classroom. I tweeted a link to the article here:

Barr and Tagg: From Teaching to Learning - A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education http://t.co/0EDmqX4FjZ #ltl13
— Alex Chaucer (@geoparadigm) June 26, 2013

I especially like the "Comparing Educational Paradigms" chart at the end.

Getting Leader "FULL"

Visual depiction of "Leaderful" practice

Day 2 was a marathon of leadership concepts, leaving all attendees exhausted and full of insight into the unique skills and concepts that are required for being "leaderful."

Rather than focus on the content, here are my main takeaways from the day.

First, I enjoyed the distinction highlighted visually in the image above. It really speaks to the greater challenges of leading across units rather than just leading a single team. In higher education and IT it is becoming very clear to me that any project worth pursuing is going to include more than just one team. This visually depicts this, and is a great reminder when trying to take on any project, task, or initiative. There was a book that was suggested in relation to this concept, as well. I shared the title of this book on Twitter for future reference.

Recommended reading, "The Innovative University" by Clayton M. Christensen #ltl13
— Alex Chaucer (@geoparadigm) June 25, 2013

Malcolm Brown shared his insights in a riveting presentation on...presentations.  I was introduced to some new concepts around presenting that I had not heard prior, and it was clear that Malcolm had thought through some of these things, and has found ways to put these ideas into practice.

One of the most valuable lessons I took away from Day 2 was from the individual coaching session with Cole Camplese.

Here's a brief summary:

• Need to get login information from my computers. Ideally broken down by time of day, major, year, student/staff, hours logged, hours logged doing GIS work.
• Quarterly reports at the end of each semester. Combine them into an annual report each year.
• Infographic based on your quarterly report. Printed out and delivered to stakeholders.
• Student promotions team.
• Strategic collaboration across units, look for opportunities to make others look good.
• Faculty Fellow program. Work closely with 2-3 faculty and put resources toward them, and then promote the project and present it at conference & blog about it.
• Tell your story about managing students.
• Talk about all projects on the blog and connect with people around the country doing similar things.
• Highlight excellent student work on the blog, even if it is just students working in the GIS Center.

So, at the end of the day I was full. Full of ideas, full of great food, and feeling good about my new understanding of being and acting "leaderful."

With that, I leave you with a video that was shared today; the top 10 IT challenges for higher ed in 2013.

Panel discussion

Learning Technology Leadership faculty panel...

Introductions

Take home messages

• Actively seek out mentors
• Accidents happen that can shape your professional/personal life
• Give yourself something to do that's fun... to allow you to decompress (Painting, surfing, etc.)

Questions to the panel

How did you come to be involved in Educause?
Answer:

• Volunteer
• Sue:  "Educause is like Hotel California."
• Volunteer for reviewing proposals if you want to get involved.

How do you address accessibility?
Involve people who have disabilities on initiatives that affect this part of your institution.

How critical is it to get a graduate degree?
Answer:

• "Having more education doesn't hurt."
• "Having a doctorate will make you vary attractive to institutions and companies."
• "There are other ways you can learn."
• "You've got to want the doctorate because you want it."

Do you lose your connection to the "users" when you move to higher positions in the institution.
"The closer you get to Administration of the university... the more you can make a positive effect on users and the staff that serve you."