The really interesting thing to me in the PYP online workshop The Role of Technology, is that quite a lot of the resources that have been shared are not directly related to technology, but about the conditions that need to be in place before technology can be successfully introduced and integrated. I'm following the leadership path through the workshop and the good news is that we can all learn to be better leaders. Here's a video that appears on the MindTools website, and this is followed by a set of questions and resources, skills and techniques to help you become a better leader. First of all I decided to do the quiz.
So how did I do? Well overall I got a score of 67/90 and I was keen to read on to find out how I could do even better. The analysis shows that two keys areas of personal growth and development are fundamental to leadership success: self-confidence and a positive attitude. This is because self-confident people are usually inspiring, and people like to be around individuals who believe in themselves and in what they're doing. Likewise, if you're a positive and optimistic person who tries to make the best of any situation, it's much easier to motivate people to do their best. In both self-confidence and positive attitude and outlook I scored 7 out of 10. The recommendation here is to become aware of all the things you have already achieved and to make the most of your strengths. In the case of a positive mindset, it's also important to develop a strong sense of balance, and recognise that setbacks and problems happen – it's how you deal with those problems that makes the difference.
Positive people approach situations realistically, prepared to make the changes necessary to overcome a problem. Negative people, on the other hand, often give in to the stress and pressure of the situation. This can lead to fear, worry, distress, anger and failure.
The next set of questions were about emotional intelligence, where again I scored 7/10. This is basically assessing the "soft skills" that allow you to build strong relationships. I felt good about this and think that over the past few years I've done my best to develop and practice more empathetic listening to try to understand another person's perspective.
Other questions were to assess transformational leadership - which involves creating an inspiring vision of the future and motivating others to achieve it. It is key to managing the implementation of new initiatives successfully as well as developing other members of the team so that they in turn become more effective in the future too. In providing a compelling vision of the future I scored 7/10, but in motivating people to deliver the vision I scored 9/10 which I was really pleased with. Some of this, I believe, is because I also scored highly in being a good role model. Good leaders lead by example. They do what they say, and say what they do. These types of leaders are trustworthy, and show integrity. They get involved in daily work where needed, and they stay in touch with what's happening throughout the organisation. Great leaders don't just sit in their offices and give orders; they demonstrate the actions and values that they expect from the team.
Successful leaders also manage performance effectively by setting their expectations clearly and concisely. When everyone knows what's expected, it's much easier to get high performance. Above all, it's important to be fair and consistent. In the category about providing support and stimulation my score was 14/20. This deals with providing people with challenging and interesting work, allowing them to develop their skills and to feel supported in their efforts to do a good job.
The Mind Tools website is full of free resources, for example I have also explored the decision making section of the site today as well. There are sections on team management, problem solving, project management, time management, stress management, communication skills and creativity tools among others. There are Bite-Size trainings that you can access with membership, however there are a huge amount of resources on the website that can be accessed completely free. It's a great resources and one that I'm so glad was shared as part of the Role of Technology PYP workshop.
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