WikiEducator:Leadership

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Leadership

The democratically established WikiEducator Community Council is tasked with leading the initiative. However, leadership emerges at multiple levels within the community and our aim is to foster an environment which encourages leadership and innovation.

The nature of WikiEducator enables the emergence of a variety of different types of leaders. The formally elected Council members, for example, have been recognised as leaders and hold a position for a fixed period with a possibility of being re-elected. Within the multitude of projects and workgroups on WikiEducator are formal and informal leaders showing the way within their respective spheres of influence. Some leaders stay with a project for years, while others may pop up for a short while with new insights which change the direction of an initiative. In all cases, there are commonalities in the ways in which leaders behave. The following suggest some of these as a guide to recognising and being a leader.

Lead by example

The Code of Conduct does not only apply to leaders, it applies to leaders more. Leaders show more patience, more respect and more civility than other members of the WikiEducator community, and epitomise WikiEducator's values. Their contributions are sustained, significant, reliable and recognised by their teams, collaborators and the broader open education community.

Respect and advance WikiEducator processes and principles

Leaders take care to act in accordance with WikiEducator governance principles and structures, and work within the WikiEducator system to change them if required.

Inspire and facilitate collaborative action

Leaders know when to ask for help, when to step back and when to take action. Leaders know when not to make a decision but to delegate it to their teams and other collaborators. Leaders have a talent for sharing the work load and inspiring collaborative action in accordance with this code of conduct. Effective leadership results in getting the right things done in the right way, personal growth and empowerment among participants, synergies and collective effectiveness.

Credit the contributors

Leaders are highly appreciative of the work of participants. While WikiEducator leaders are frequently more prominent in the open education space, they use their visibility to highlight the great work of their team members and other contributors.

When disagreements arise, consult others

Disagreements are common in any collaborative endeavour and the WikiEducator community is no exception. Disagreements may concern pedagogical, social, technical and policy issues. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively and with the help of the community and community processes. We have several workgroups, of varying degrees of formality, addressing important issues and the WikiEducator Community Council which help to decide the right course for WikiEducator. When our goals differ dramatically, we encourage the creation of alternative sets of resources, or derivative works, with clear cross-referencing, so that the community can peruse the various perspectives, offer new ideas and participate in the discussion.

Manage conflicts of interest

Leader notice when they are conflicted and delegate decisions to others on their team or to other teams or governing councils. When in doubt, leaders publicly ask for a second opinion. They realize that perceived conflicts of interest are as important as real conflicts of interest and are cognizant of perceptions; they understand that their actions are as tainted by perceived conflicts as by real ones.

Keep the personal personal

No team is an extension of its leader's personality and leaders' personal feelings and desires may diverge from the interest of their teams. When acting in their capacity as leaders, leaders should not ignore their own beliefs, feelings, and principles but must hold the interests of their team and the WikiEducator community above their own convictions. Leaders make difficult choices but are careful to act in the best interests of their communities. They work with established processes and delegate decisions to others when necessary to serve those broader interests.

Step down gracefully

Members of every project come and go and WikiEducator is no different. When somebody leaves or disengages from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that they do so in a way that minimises disruption to the project. This means they should tell people they are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where they left off.

Resources

Links to courses, modules and and other resources related to leadership:

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