Leading the charge of digital learning in higher education today, as we emerge from the global pandemic with greater respect for digital learning, demands a different set of leadership knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics than in the past.
As we see an end to the COVID-19 pandemic on the horizon, institutions are making plans to resume “new normal” operations for fall. As you ponder the future of remote work within your unit or institution, here is what you need to consider.
You’ve experienced the need for dynamic stability if you’ve flown an airplane, steered a boat or ship on the open ocean, driven a vehicle on a windy day, ridden a bicycle, or taught any class with “active learning” methods. You have a course in mind, a path to follow, but you also have the need to constantly adapt to the changing conditions around you.
Professional development frequently suffers when institutional budgets tighten. There is often a temptation, and sometimes even a mandate, to cut professional growth opportunities. I argue that now is not the time to cut back on professional development, but rather it is the perfect time for institutions and online learning units to invest in their most important assets, our people.