Take the Reins

“Brand-ed” school leadership results from unification of actions, intent, and words. When communication is in line with true intent and actions are consistent and coherently applied to vision, you have branded leadership. Synchronization of goals, words, and deeds, and identification of unique attributes help build a positive brand. Being connected to the world and your local community to communicate mission and achievements is a must. I'm still working on finding that one word to express my own personal brand in the educational arena. I've narrowed it down to Synthesis and Synchronicity, and am looking for a way to express both ideas in a single word.

“Digital leadership requires connectedness as an essential component to cultivate innovative practices and lead sustainable change”(Sheninger 122). This statement resonated with me because I’ve been sensing this for a long time, but was previously uncomfortable pursuing a larger online presence due to former administrators who were “anti” social media. I’ve been working on getting more comfortable with Twitter. A few years ago I took some Integrated Marketing Communications classes at WVU and got to meet some primary social influencers, such as Mark Schaefer. Mark is a WVU alum and author of “The Tao of Twitter” and “Return on Influence,” both of which I read before trying to fully engage in social media for professional purposes. I would recommend any of his books (he has several titles available) as primers for newbies. I am seeing many areas of overlap between IMC and School/Personal Branding in education.

When it comes to Twitter, the number of possible people to follow can be overwhelming. I decided to start with the author of our book, @E_Sheninger, and other notables in the Ed Tech field, and see who they are following. I love that Twitter provides a real-time stream of ideas and support, and numerous opportunities for focused conversations around issues and innovation.

I’m also part of several groups on Schoology, and have found it to be tremendously educational. With time, I am sure I will become more confident and participatory in the PLN I am slowly building for myself. We do have an active PLC on the middle school side, and we usually meet bi-weekly, (or more often if needed) to share new ideas and methods and tackle obstacles together. I would like to encourage my team members to join me on whichever site they feel most comfortable with to grow and expand a PLN. At our next Vertical Teaming, I hope to engage with teachers at other grade levels and invite them as well. Even though we are more tech forward than other schools I’ve worked in, I feel like there are still many things that we need to get off the ground to move into the future and exercise our full capabilities.

I plan on doing everything I can to help get us there.

Sheninger, Eric C. (2014-01-14). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (p. 122). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.