Digital Leadership is Going to go Viral

Social media has transformed how leadership occurs and the digital spaces where leaders emerge. Platforms such as Twitter and Instagram have made concepts such as “following” everyday language and allowed digital leadership to develop. This activity allows participants to explore and define digital leadership by reviewing their Twitter account and the account of someone they recently followed. This activity is specifically crafted for Twitter but can be modified for other social media platforms.

Learning Goals: Participants will have opportunities to:

Materials: personal device (cell phone, computer, tablet), access to connect to Internet, worksheet

Process:

Social media has created an indention in our society, community, and higher education institutions. Ahlquist (2017) defined digital leadership as “heartware of technology in higher education. Heartware is your internal operating system as a whole person in the digital age— with core values, life mission, and passion.… Heartware is about humanizing tech through human operations and relationships” (p. 55). Ahlquist (2017) also developed the Digital Leadership Education Pillars and Digital Reflection Model tools “that can be used by leadership educators to create intentional curricula built around critical thinking and reflection on social media” (p. 54). This framework is rooted in the following: “holistic digital identity, including prioritizing relationships, strategic communications, leadership philosophy, and embracing change” (Cabellon & Ahlquist, 2016, p. 8).