On the First Day of Digital Leadership…Know Yourself as a Leader!

1. Know yourself as a leader

Eric Sheninger is probably the leading self-proclaimed digital leader in education in the world. But that didn’t stop him being a huge sceptic just a matter of years ago.

‘I was the principal who didn’t believe in any of this. I wrote the policies that blocked social media.’

Yet, Sheninger could see how technology engaged the kids. So, he set about re-wiring his own thoughts on technology, embracing the networked CPD opportunities of social media and building an engaged senior leadership team to take digital leadership forward within his school, which subsequently gained the best results in the district.

‘It was hard working with the staff who’d been there for thirty or forty years. In education, we focus on the yeah buts when we need to focus on the what ifs. Leadership is about action, not about title, position or power.’

Lesson: It’s never too late to take up digital leadership. It’s OK to admit you don’t know everything in digital, but start now. It’s not acceptable to be a leader and ‘not do tech’ anymore.

Listen for more Digital Leadership hacks: Episode 59: Eric Sheninger, Senior Fellow & Leader on Digital Leadership and Learning, International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) and former award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. See minutes 4:00 – 6:00 in the below recording…

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