Recently, in a meeting I attended, the question was raised, ‘What are the characteristics of a great eLearning leader? At first, when I heard the question, I thought it odd that my mind went blank. After all, I’ve been in this profession for 6 years and in the education realm for 14 years. With this experience, shouldn’t I know exactly what makes a great leader in this profession? Amazingly, in all of my professional experience, I have never sat down and really thought about this pertinent issue. So, over the course of 4 days, I found myself grappling with the question. I’m glad I did because I now know what I would say if ever asked again. This list has been edited to read in a generic sense so as not to give away any business-related specifics.
· An eLearning leader must not be the typical ‘corporate’ type. His/her expertise is not founded on the principles others in management may have; rather, his/her expertise is founded in education. Although staying within a budget and meeting with clients is extremely important, this person believes his/her success is in seeing his/her students (agents) succeed because when they succeed, the company succeeds.
· An eLearning manager must have a firm understanding of the vague term ‘eLearning’. He/she must understand that in the word ‘eLearning’, the ‘e’ only describes the method in which a course is transmitted (i.e. electronically). It is merely the prefix to the key word…Learning. Although we teach in a business setting, the failure of students to learn will ultimately cause the business to fail. This person must be willing to fight for the sake of the agents’ learning environment as it is one of the key components to any company’s success and growth.
· An eLearning manager must have teaching experience so that the team he/she leads can grow in their teaching abilities. Whether or not an eLearning team realizes this, we are teachers in a virtual world. The team does not directly make money for a company; however, an eLearning team gives it’s employees the knowledge to succeed, thus, making enabling the company to make profit, both financially and in reputation. An eLearning manager who has a teacher’s heart (with teaching experience) will grow the team’s teaching abilities which will positively affect a company’s bottom line. An eLearning manager who does not have a teacher’s heart (with teaching experience) may do well in the management aspect of things; however, he/she will not be the resource the team needs. Collectively, educators want and need to grow their teaching abilities because, as educators get better, so will the employees.
· An eLearning manager must be an educator. He/she must have their pulse on adult learning. This does not mean that he/she must be an expert in andragogy; rather, he/she must understand what goes into the learning process for an adult. eLearning is not simply putting a manual online, nor is it a PowerPoint with simple narration. He/she needs to always be willing to put themselves in the agents’ shoes and ask ‘would I learn from this?’ and/or ‘would I enjoy sitting through this?’. Education in an online environment must have purpose, be engaging and be entertaining. An eLearning manager who is an educator, first and foremost, will understand this and will be a great advocate for any eLearning team as they work to develop fantastic ‘edutainment’ courses.
An eLearning manager must be open-minded. All of us have pre-conceived notions as to what constitutes a great course. As the American culture evolves, the way people learn evolves. An eLearning manager who is open-minded will understand this and find ways to challenge his/her team, to ‘up their game’. He/she will always be looking out for new and exciting ways to educate employees as well as excite them about the learning process.
Filed under: eLearning General
