Distance Education: Attributes and Issues of a Modern Leader
Introduction
While many historical leaders were groomed from a young age to lead, modern leaders are those who find themselves able to clearly communicate an important idea or concept at a critical point in time, often with little or no preparation for the express purpose of leading a group or organization. Lack of preparation (or ethics) can often lead to poor leadership choices that adversely affect many. Of course it is quite popular for those wishing to run an organization to obtain a Masters of Business Administration, but few are the business administrators who have the opportunity to become business leaders. Or, when they do have that opportunity, they find that they lack the skills and preparation for successful leadership; their skills are only useful for administration. It is only by practicing the skills of successful leadership, and by considering the issues that may require leadership, that one can be truly prepared to lead. In the case of distance education, the skills may be similar to those used in other organizations, but they surely must be applied in the way best suited for the improvement and advancement of distance education, which is very different from a typical business or other organization.
Part 1 – Attributes of a Distance Education Leader
There are many important attributes that can be considered useful for leading a distance education organization. The following attributes resonate as key with many in the distance education world. Each attribute has a particular purpose and is useful only when applied in the correct situation.
Visionary – Whenever you need an organization or institution to change, it takes a creative and meaningful vision before the change can occur. Kotter (1996) discusses the importance of vision, considering it one of the pillars for implementing successful change (p. 165). The change vision is important in every major decision a leader must make. Bates (2005) provides a practical example of utilizing vision to create a strategy for utilizing technology, so that your technology projects do not become short-term and/or unsustainable (p. 64). I have seen examples of this, where an e-learning organization made starts and stops on developing a set of courses, based on the whims of potential clients and anecdotal customer requests. No research was conducted in order to create a vision for the future of this project. This provides a natural segue to the next attribute…
Researcher – “Research into distance education, not just its good practice, had to be strengthened” (Burge, 2007, p. 21). This recollection of an earlier time still applies today. A great distance education leader is willing to do the necessary research, be it in technologies, ways to provide better economies of scale, methods for improving marketing, or partnerships with third parties. A leader must be willing to find the truth: Is my institution’s distance education program making the best use of its money? Is it employing the best methodologies for providing services to students and instructors? Would a print/DVD course provide a better margin and still serve the needs of students, as opposed to an online course? Going with your gut is what a lazy leader would do; a great leader does the research, be it quantitative or qualitative to determine the best course of action.
Entrepreneurial – A distance education leader must have the entrepreneurial spirit, in many cases, to be successful. There are many opportunities in distance education for someone who is willing to identify or even develop his or her own. For example, there may be the opportunity to reach out to an underserved population, such as single mothers. One may be able to create an opportunity for learning in a new field that would be impractical to try and facilitate via brick and mortar campuses. Otto Peters, as Beaudoin (2004) points out, saw opportunities to make distance education more like a business, with “division of labor, marketing, management, quality control” (p. 76). The potential to advance Peters’ entrepreneurial tendencies still exist so that distance education can be made available to more people, at a better price, with a positive outcome.
Committed – Not as in, “He needs to be committed to the asylum,” but as in, “She is committed to improving the quality of distance education provided to students at institution X,” or even, “He is working day and night to determine the best way to re-organize the adult education program into one that better utilizes distance education.” Kotter (1996) puts forth an eight stage process for leading change in an organization which, if followed fully, will require the lasting commitment of those who lead the change (p. 21). A committed leader will also set the example to the followers of the level of effort that is desired of them to make the change occur. It is clear that many distance educators have worked hard to create open learning throughout the globe, with even nations that lack many modern conveniences establishing some form of distance education program or participating within a distance education consortium. This commitment to spreading education utilizing a distance mode should not wane.
Influential – If a distance education leader has reached a level of influence within his or her own organization due to their achievements in the field, that might help that leader influence his or her underlings at the institution, but the distance education leader needs much greater skills in influencing others in order to help policy makers, bureaucrats, and politicians make decisions that will make distance education more open and available. This is reiterated by Shona Butterfield when she explains that leaders “must be able to influence the environment in which” they operate (Burge, 2007, p. 5). In other words, don’t sit back and expect someone else to do the influencing, be an influencing leader yourself.
Servant – Distance education isn’t exactly a sexy field, like sports or entertainment, and it doesn’t typically lead to a big pay day, such as finance or legal occupations tend to do, but it does offer something many fields do not, something that even traditional higher education does not, the chance to help people who are in often desperate need of a better education. I had the privilege of developing an online GED and Adult Basic Education (ABE) course that was facilitated by tutors. Even though these tutors were poorly paid, they labored long and difficult hours to serve people who could not get a job or who could not make a living wage because they were lacking a high school credential or were functionally illiterate. Some students showed the tutors disrespect or were even deceitful, but the best tutors persevered because they wanted to help as many people as possible. These instructors and many like them were furthermore highly engaged in the legislative process to try and get better funding for ABE programs, so that they could serve more people. To be a successful leader, you must have a heart for those whom you wish to lead.
Part 2 – Issues for Distance Leaders to Attend to
“Don’t be co-opted!”
The co-opting of distance education by traditional higher education is an issue that Michael Moore raises in Burge (2007). The danger, he explains, is that traditional institutions will attempt to label their technology-driven, yet traditionally taught courses as distance education, when they are simply perpetuating a costly, resource-draining, traditional model of education delivery. He continues to say that distance education should be a movement to better allocate resources and eliminate redundancy so that the door may be opened to more students at a rate more affordable to both student and municipality (pp. 124-125). Many institutions have been sold an LMS platform from Blackboard, eCollege, etc. with a sales pitch that claimed the existing instructors can easily create and edit their own courses. Unfortunately, this is not distance education, but cookie-cutter, classroom-style, online course manufacturing that offers little learning for the students. It will take many people willing to study and advance high quality distance education in order for distance education excellence to pervade the many institutions that put little vision or research into developing “distance education” courses.
“To iPods and beyond”
While many in the distance education field decry the emphasis placed on technology within distance education circles, it is important to remember that technology drives virtually everything, from farming to manufacturing, from entertainment to politics. Several years ago, many professional photographers clung to their non-digital cameras, only to become late adopters once they realized the importance of the technological advancements. Likewise distance education could lose the footing it has gained in the higher educational realm if it fails to consider utilizing the iPad, Kindle, BlackBerry, or similar new technologies. Michael Collins in Burge (2007) agrees that the usefulness of these devices for distance education merits “careful investigation by educators” (p. 99). If these devices will aid students in learning, then distance education leaders should be in the forefront of researching them.
Are we educators or administrators?
Just as the academic deans of universities see themselves as educators, they are just as likely to see the distance education leader at their institution as some form of administrator. Beaudoin (2004) notices that job postings for the Director of Distance Education are likely to be posted “alongside ads for Director of Budget Services, Director of Facilities Maintenance, and the like” (p. 95). If these positions are considered to be on par, then it will take influential, committed, visionary entrepreneurs to be able to make university administrators aware of the importance of distance education leaders as educators.
Conclusion
There are a plethora of attributes that are beneficial to helping the modern distance education leader deal with the many issues facing him or her. It will take time to cultivate leaders with the various skills and attributes, but the benefit of this will be a new breed of leaders capable of the advancement of distance and open education on behalf of those underserved and forgotten by traditional higher education.
References
Bates, A. (2005). Technology, e-learning and distance education. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.
Beaudoin, M. (2004). Reflections on research, faculty and leadership in distance education. Oldenburg: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.
Burge, E. (2007). Flexible higher education. New York, NY: Open University Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
While many historical leaders were groomed from a young age to lead, modern leaders are those who find themselves able to clearly communicate an important idea or concept at a critical point in time, often with little or no preparation for the express purpose of leading a group or organization. Lack of preparation (or ethics) can often lead to poor leadership choices that adversely affect many. Of course it is quite popular for those wishing to run an organization to obtain a Masters of Business Administration, but few are the business administrators who have the opportunity to become business leaders. Or, when they do have that opportunity, they find that they lack the skills and preparation for successful leadership; their skills are only useful for administration. It is only by practicing the skills of successful leadership, and by considering the issues that may require leadership, that one can be truly prepared to lead. In the case of distance education, the skills may be similar to those used in other organizations, but they surely must be applied in the way best suited for the improvement and advancement of distance education, which is very different from a typical business or other organization.
Part 1 – Attributes of a Distance Education Leader
There are many important attributes that can be considered useful for leading a distance education organization. The following attributes resonate as key with many in the distance education world. Each attribute has a particular purpose and is useful only when applied in the correct situation.
Visionary – Whenever you need an organization or institution to change, it takes a creative and meaningful vision before the change can occur. Kotter (1996) discusses the importance of vision, considering it one of the pillars for implementing successful change (p. 165). The change vision is important in every major decision a leader must make. Bates (2005) provides a practical example of utilizing vision to create a strategy for utilizing technology, so that your technology projects do not become short-term and/or unsustainable (p. 64). I have seen examples of this, where an e-learning organization made starts and stops on developing a set of courses, based on the whims of potential clients and anecdotal customer requests. No research was conducted in order to create a vision for the future of this project. This provides a natural segue to the next attribute…
Researcher – “Research into distance education, not just its good practice, had to be strengthened” (Burge, 2007, p. 21). This recollection of an earlier time still applies today. A great distance education leader is willing to do the necessary research, be it in technologies, ways to provide better economies of scale, methods for improving marketing, or partnerships with third parties. A leader must be willing to find the truth: Is my institution’s distance education program making the best use of its money? Is it employing the best methodologies for providing services to students and instructors? Would a print/DVD course provide a better margin and still serve the needs of students, as opposed to an online course? Going with your gut is what a lazy leader would do; a great leader does the research, be it quantitative or qualitative to determine the best course of action.
Entrepreneurial – A distance education leader must have the entrepreneurial spirit, in many cases, to be successful. There are many opportunities in distance education for someone who is willing to identify or even develop his or her own. For example, there may be the opportunity to reach out to an underserved population, such as single mothers. One may be able to create an opportunity for learning in a new field that would be impractical to try and facilitate via brick and mortar campuses. Otto Peters, as Beaudoin (2004) points out, saw opportunities to make distance education more like a business, with “division of labor, marketing, management, quality control” (p. 76). The potential to advance Peters’ entrepreneurial tendencies still exist so that distance education can be made available to more people, at a better price, with a positive outcome.
Committed – Not as in, “He needs to be committed to the asylum,” but as in, “She is committed to improving the quality of distance education provided to students at institution X,” or even, “He is working day and night to determine the best way to re-organize the adult education program into one that better utilizes distance education.” Kotter (1996) puts forth an eight stage process for leading change in an organization which, if followed fully, will require the lasting commitment of those who lead the change (p. 21). A committed leader will also set the example to the followers of the level of effort that is desired of them to make the change occur. It is clear that many distance educators have worked hard to create open learning throughout the globe, with even nations that lack many modern conveniences establishing some form of distance education program or participating within a distance education consortium. This commitment to spreading education utilizing a distance mode should not wane.
Influential – If a distance education leader has reached a level of influence within his or her own organization due to their achievements in the field, that might help that leader influence his or her underlings at the institution, but the distance education leader needs much greater skills in influencing others in order to help policy makers, bureaucrats, and politicians make decisions that will make distance education more open and available. This is reiterated by Shona Butterfield when she explains that leaders “must be able to influence the environment in which” they operate (Burge, 2007, p. 5). In other words, don’t sit back and expect someone else to do the influencing, be an influencing leader yourself.
Servant – Distance education isn’t exactly a sexy field, like sports or entertainment, and it doesn’t typically lead to a big pay day, such as finance or legal occupations tend to do, but it does offer something many fields do not, something that even traditional higher education does not, the chance to help people who are in often desperate need of a better education. I had the privilege of developing an online GED and Adult Basic Education (ABE) course that was facilitated by tutors. Even though these tutors were poorly paid, they labored long and difficult hours to serve people who could not get a job or who could not make a living wage because they were lacking a high school credential or were functionally illiterate. Some students showed the tutors disrespect or were even deceitful, but the best tutors persevered because they wanted to help as many people as possible. These instructors and many like them were furthermore highly engaged in the legislative process to try and get better funding for ABE programs, so that they could serve more people. To be a successful leader, you must have a heart for those whom you wish to lead.
Part 2 – Issues for Distance Leaders to Attend to
“Don’t be co-opted!”
The co-opting of distance education by traditional higher education is an issue that Michael Moore raises in Burge (2007). The danger, he explains, is that traditional institutions will attempt to label their technology-driven, yet traditionally taught courses as distance education, when they are simply perpetuating a costly, resource-draining, traditional model of education delivery. He continues to say that distance education should be a movement to better allocate resources and eliminate redundancy so that the door may be opened to more students at a rate more affordable to both student and municipality (pp. 124-125). Many institutions have been sold an LMS platform from Blackboard, eCollege, etc. with a sales pitch that claimed the existing instructors can easily create and edit their own courses. Unfortunately, this is not distance education, but cookie-cutter, classroom-style, online course manufacturing that offers little learning for the students. It will take many people willing to study and advance high quality distance education in order for distance education excellence to pervade the many institutions that put little vision or research into developing “distance education” courses.
“To iPods and beyond”
While many in the distance education field decry the emphasis placed on technology within distance education circles, it is important to remember that technology drives virtually everything, from farming to manufacturing, from entertainment to politics. Several years ago, many professional photographers clung to their non-digital cameras, only to become late adopters once they realized the importance of the technological advancements. Likewise distance education could lose the footing it has gained in the higher educational realm if it fails to consider utilizing the iPad, Kindle, BlackBerry, or similar new technologies. Michael Collins in Burge (2007) agrees that the usefulness of these devices for distance education merits “careful investigation by educators” (p. 99). If these devices will aid students in learning, then distance education leaders should be in the forefront of researching them.
Are we educators or administrators?
Just as the academic deans of universities see themselves as educators, they are just as likely to see the distance education leader at their institution as some form of administrator. Beaudoin (2004) notices that job postings for the Director of Distance Education are likely to be posted “alongside ads for Director of Budget Services, Director of Facilities Maintenance, and the like” (p. 95). If these positions are considered to be on par, then it will take influential, committed, visionary entrepreneurs to be able to make university administrators aware of the importance of distance education leaders as educators.
Conclusion
There are a plethora of attributes that are beneficial to helping the modern distance education leader deal with the many issues facing him or her. It will take time to cultivate leaders with the various skills and attributes, but the benefit of this will be a new breed of leaders capable of the advancement of distance and open education on behalf of those underserved and forgotten by traditional higher education.
References
Bates, A. (2005). Technology, e-learning and distance education. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.
Beaudoin, M. (2004). Reflections on research, faculty and leadership in distance education. Oldenburg: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.
Burge, E. (2007). Flexible higher education. New York, NY: Open University Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.