ITC Leadership Academy 2009 - Building Coalitions

1. By Ryan Schrenk Presented to ITC Distance Learning Leadership Academy 2009 Building Coalitions of the Willing in Distance Education – My Journey So Far

2. Theory and Practice The people I work with and for should just see a highly functioning division…I hope You get to see inside the mind.  I want to share some theory Some research/resources Some solutions And learn What are you reading and doing?

3. Quality & Leadership Quality (Sometimes it can be life or death) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HitotlXEpIE Leadership (One man has it figured out but do we, as leaders in DE?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC1nzN0a7q4 And another medical example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lttpXpYA6c&feature=related

4. My recent research (and workplace) challenges revolve around: Leadership Style and leadership. Find an instrument that will measure/help define “high quality” Distance Education programs. Quest for the perfect Distance Education Program at the Organizational Level Building and being a part of a team “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team” – John Wooden Assimilation and application into my workplace

5. My Challenges Find definitions and “dissertatable” question Follow literature trails Find valuable information for me and my profession

6. Complexity of Quality Lots of models and theory Not much hard research built upon them 9% of research in the field on Management 36% on Teaching Theory 21% on Design Complexity of the Leadership Challenges in the Systems Approach to DE make studies challenging (Lee, Driscoll & Nelson, 2007)

8. Pyramid of DE Leader Competencies (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2009)

9. Meaningful Leadership Quotes for me Burns (1978) stated “the function of leadership is to engage followers, not merely to activate them, to commingle needs and aspirations and goals in a common enterprise…” (p. 461). Rost (1989) “Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and reflect their real purposes” (p. 102). Leadership is all about “mutual purpose” & “leadership consists of individuals acting as leaders who assume roles within evolving influence relationships requiring their contributions in order to achieve mutual purposes” (McCaw 2008, class lecture) (Create a) “list of opportunities and risks then focus on priorities and (how to) get the best people on them” (Drucker & Senge, 1999)

10. Leadership, Technology and Change Book: Bridging the gap: leadership, technology and organizational change for deans and department chairs (2003) “Leaders who don’t understand their existing culture, with its own unique attributes and constraints, will be unable to navigate that culture successfully to lead organizational change. Similarly, leaders who don’t grasp the vast potential of technology, its impacts, and the resistance factors within their organizational cultures will be unable to employ these tools in ways that transform the organization and its members” (Johnson, Hanna and Olcott, 2003, p. 17).

11. 4 Stage Process of Change Acknowledging – work through shock, denial, slower thinking and feelings of being threatened Reacting – (toughest stage to work through) Anger, withdrawal, depression, resistance and attempts to regain control, policies, procedures from before the change. We can’t skip this stage but we often do or don’t get past it truly. Investigating – Explore new opps, being open, build excitement Implementing – new procedures, systems, comfort with change, trust that change can happen positively (Johnson, Hanna and Olcott, 2003, pp. 66-69). ---Not unlike Lewin (1952) and/or Toffler (1970)-unfreeze, change, refreeze---but speaks to “system approach”

12. Brief Lit Review of Quality DE Systems Significant Work: Moore & Kearsley, 1995 Systems Approach and Definitions Follow up: Moore and Kearsley, 2005 Current Update on System Approach Follow up: Handbook of DE, Moore, 2007 Comprehensive Collection – History, Teaching/Learning and Policy/Administration Follow up: Teaching and Learning at a Distance, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2009 Accreditation, Copyright and Leading DE

14. About Concentric Model Dissertation from Purdue U Delphi Study Narrowed from 47 to 43 and added 1 factor Starts in classroom (teacher/learner) then content Moves to online “classroom” LMS/IT infrastructure Then to Program level support (administratively, faculty support, web of services for students, leadership, DE Task Force at MSU-GF, etc.) Finally the Community level support (enrollments, employers and accrediting bodies) Problem: too much focus on one circle…

15. Your Charge Discussion Collaborations and Leadership and/or DE Literature – an influential book/author/mental model How you’ve assimilated and applied in your own organization (or how you plan to do so after ITC Leadership Academy)