The Connection - Leadership Technology and Innovation

The Connection – Leadership Technology and Innovation
Date: 29th June 2015/Monday/630 PM

It’s been some time now since I have been wondering about the link that exists between leadership, technology and innovation. There were several questions that kept bugging me. For example what role leaders can play in introducing new technology in schools? How can they foster a culture which encourages and supports new and innovative ideas in technology integration? Do leaders really need to understand the technology before making huge investments in technology? Why such huge investments in technology often do not yield the estimated results? Why does it not show a deeper impact on the teaching and learning in classrooms? What can school leaders do to maximize the effects of technology integration in classrooms? What are the perceptions of different leaders regarding leadership, technology and innovation? How do they pave a way for all three to work smoothly? So I did some exploration and research, skimmed a few articles and blogs and I am sharing key points that I thought could drive the change we all look up to in our schools in the years to come.

First thing leaders need to understand is that without change there is no innovation and change is something inevitable. It will take place whether you like it or not. Students have access to technology as never before. These are the digital natives we are talking about. They learn to use the i-pads at the age of 3 (in cases 2 or below) because they have access to technology 24/7. They can create their podcasts using audacity, publish online, create their digital stories online, create own blogs, record movies and design flyers, publishers using a number of tools online, conduct online sessions etc. They are well equipped to do wonders with technology.

I remember teaching IT (Information Technology) to sixth graders 7-8 years back from now, they were learning how to create a newsletter in MS Publisher,  they could search the internet, make presentations in PowerPoint, create podcasts with the assistance of the teacher using Audacity software etc. Let’s go back a little when I was a student in school some 15 years back, we never had such amazing facilities, no computers nothing.  Our teacher showed us a few videos using the video player. So change has taken place, and will continue to do so. What is that school leaders need to do in this ever fast transitioning world?how can they make things smooth for students and teachers?

IBMs Ginni Rometty said in a Fortune 2014 interview, “as fast as you think you are moving, chances are someone is moving faster, be thoughtful and strategic, but at the same time be bold and move fast. The need to adapt is constantly imminent – be fearless, try new things and correct them along”. Change thus is constant, the challenge is to how keep your pace with change, how to innovate and encourage creative ideas in your schools.

Steven Anderson in his blog about School Leaders and Technology Integration, writes that people are more important than things, have the right people in right place, give them the power to support teachers and students so that technology gets integrated in the right way. I completely agree to what he says. One of the reasons of ineffective technology integration that I have observed in schools is that technology has been given in the hands of people who have absolutely no know how of the potential a tool XY holds, because they have never explored it. Simply buying and installing the IWB, EYERIS or a beebots etc in classroom will never yield positive and enhanced learning outcomes. There needs to be support systems in place , right people for the right jobs who can provide on spot support. 

School leaders need to learn the art of selling technology rather than telling technology, provide PD opportunities that help develop a better understanding of how beneficial the tool is for them. Bring the tool in, demo to parents and kids, share how could this be a great resource in their learning at school.Steven Anderson stresses on selling it and not just buying it.

Steve Job said exactly the same thing, he showed more respect to people who use technology rather than technology itself. He went on to say technology is nothing, it’s the faith in people, that they are basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they will do wonderful things. An important thing that school leaders need to do is to show respect and faith towards the innovative ideas that their staff shares with them. They need to let them play with technology. They need to give them time to explore the tool enough before they can plan something innovative with the tool. They need to show patience. Google’s Larry Page said in an interview in 2005, "to be crazy about your ideas, when no one else is doing it you have little competition. Be confidence, fail often and have a healthy disregard for the impossible". Summed up beautifully and I just couldn’t stop from agreeing to those thoughts.  

And what more we have the Apple genius  Steve Jobs sharing the same thoughts about innovation and mistakes,  when we innovate we make mistakes, it is better to admit quickly and get on improving with other innovations. The more delay in admitting our mistakes the more severe the aftermath. Surveys should be conducted before reaching any decision,in case if the technology provided in schools does not yield the desired outcomes, it should be replaced with a better tool (a SWOC analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges  of the tool should be carried by the leader and all stake holders both before and after using the tool). Decision could be taken about whether it requires investing in buying a better android device, upgrading to a better O/S, replacing tablets with i-pads (introducing a new device) etc.

Steve Jobs said that innovation is somethings that distinguishes a leader from a follower. Leaders need to give space to people to share their ideas. Steve said innovation comes from people meeting in the hallways or calling each other at 1030 to share an idea.. it comes from saying no to 1000 things to make sure we do not get on the wrong track (Business Week 2004).

All this needs team work. A leader alone cannot achieve all this.  A department alone cannot achieve success without working in coherence with other departments in an organization. Steve Jobs was inspired by Beatles, how the four kept a check on each others negatives and balanced each other. He believed that in business great things are never done by one person but by a team of people. Its a challenge in today's growing world to keep people from different cultures, different thinking and beliefs to work together, which Steve was able to do brilliantly keeping their identities intact.

True like anything, its team work that does magic. The focus has to shift towards working as teams, taking ownership, accepting each other strengths and weaknesses, trying out new ideas, accepting challenges and failures, cherish success and moving on to explore new endeavors.

Technology alone is not enough as stated by Steve Jobs at the ipad2 launch in March , he went on to say, "It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing". He insisted on computer scientists working together with the scientists, designers and artists, the best ideas emerge from the intersection of technology and humanities.

Its when a computer person researches and shares an advancement in technology, identifies a tool, followed by a chit chat with the stakeholder (teacher, student, parent etc) on how it could be used to enhance performance/learning on a coffee table, followed by a meeting with the designer of the tool, discussing the benefit/cost analysis with technology committee, demonstrating to all stake holders during lunch etc. It requires a huge cultural change in organizations, and a motivated, inspiring, exciting leader is the only one who can drive this change!

As CEO Microsoft, Satya Nadella rightly says its the leaders job to boost the confidence of the staff by mastering the art of knowing when to intervene and when to step back, if you get it right, you could make people do great things".

Leadership, Technology and Innovation alone are nothing. There exists a strong  and a unique bond between them. Every organization would need to spend time, effort and energy on all three elements to achieve success in any area. the success of one will greatly depend on the other.

I read this in one of the blogs, and just could not find something better to end the blog post, I thought this was amazing , Alienus Non Diutius. Alone no longer (Latin Crest on Pixar University).

Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing :) comments are welcome , hope it triggers some thinking on what we are doing and what is that needs to be done to get things straight.

Sheeba Ajmal