In Service of Others – Connected Leadership in a Post-Secondary Context

Abstract

In this article, three associate deans, who each lead one of three Academic Support Offices in a School of Education at a Canadian research-intensive university, feature their reflections, leadership approaches, found synergies, and collaborations to cultivate and advance connected leadership and resilience. The Offices of Research, Teaching and Learning, and Internationalization are located in a common physical space. Each associate dean manages their own portfolio in addition to collaborating with one another on identified points of intersection and joint initiatives. These three Offices were formed to support faculty members and students in the two programs areas in the School—Undergraduate Programs in Education and Graduate Programs in Education. The work of the Academic Support Offices is supported by two administrative support individuals and two facilitators who work across all three Offices.
 Over the past 23 months, this team of seven transitioned to remote and virtual work in response to COVID-19. Opportunities and challenges pertaining to communications, collaborations and how leadership and resilience is lived amongst the three associate deans, in particular, are discussed. Authors apply the lenses of relationality and connectivism to make meaning of and reimagine their leadership through reflections on foundations of learning, such as autonomy, connectedness, diversity and openness, and how these essences contribute to collective and collaborative leadership and resilience. Authors assert that building on the relational and connectivity to support collaborative and generative work and learning communities that thrive is essential, moving forward.