As a leader, you must be determined in your goals. Once decided, all efforts must be made to accomplish tasks. Leaders are judged by their accomplishments. Do not allow yourself to be sidetracked in your efforts to complete these tasks.

One tactic you might take to stay on task and accomplish priority goals is to advertise them. Goals should be communicated with your team members. Post them around your work space (Cialdini, 2001). Talk about them often in meetings and emails. When your team feels like they have a part in your goals, you will be more successful in accomplishing them.

References
Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Harnessing the science of persuasion. Harvard Business Review, 79(9), 72-­‐79.

Determination is not just about pursuit of goals, it is about limiting and negating any disturbances that might keep you from achieving your goals. When necessary, good leaders face unpleasantness head on. Do not go out looking for a fight, but do not allow disturbances, especially those you might have some influence on, to disrupt your intentions.

References
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2013). Reframing organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Do not mistake power for corruption. They are not the same. Power is one tool that you can use to assist in accomplishing your goals, and even the most ethical and just leaders should seek to acquire it. In education, resources are scarce. Power is a way to gain resources for your team so that your goals can be obtained.

Power is not just about position in the organization. As a supervisor, you have that power to some extent. Use it when necessary, but grow your other power sources as well. There is power in your knowledge and expertise. There is power in your reputation. If you are charismatic, you may be lucky enough to possess personal power. All of these will help you to build your total power.

References
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2013). Reframing organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

One person cannot possibly be all and do all of the things necessary to accomplish the goals of your organization. Sometimes you need help. Build a network of friends, experts, and allies inside and outside of your organization. Do not hesitate to call on those individuals when you have a particularly tricky or difficult goal to accomplish.

As an education technologist, you must be especially careful to build a network with academic faculty and staff, especially if you work in an institution of higher education. Some day, you may hope to complete a project that requires their assistance. It is valuable to have alliances in the right places to assist you in your goals. If possible, try to find ways to make the project mutually beneficial; but if necessary, use the you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours method.

Networking and power go hand in hand. When talking to others, find out their needs. Think about the ways in which you might help them accomplish those needs. Think also about how they might help you accomplish yours. If the connections are immediately obvious, make an effort to get to know this person better. They will likely play a huge part in your future accomplishments.

Encourage a culture of excitement, fun, unity, and teamwork in your office, division, and organization. As a leader you have many important tasks, one of those is to create team that helps you accomplish your goals. When you lead in an inclusive, fun environment, your team will be much more likely to be on your side.

"Gratitude, hope, zest, curiosity, and love - are robustly associated with life satisfaction as well as work satisfaction" (Peterson & Park, 2005, p.6). When people are happy at work, they are better at work. In addition, a happy team means less disturbances, which includes turnover. It is expensive and time-consuming to find, hire, and train new employees. Make efforts to keep them.

References:
Pearson, C. M., & Porath, C. L. (2005). On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for "nice"? Think again. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-­‐2005), 19(1), 7-­‐18. doi: 10.2307/4166149

Celebrating culture can take shape in many ways such as parties, rituals, stories, and play. "Effective teams balance seriousness with play and humor" (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p. 278). Weekly dance parties or joke emails may not work for everyone. You have to decide what makes the most sense for you and your team. One thing that works in all groups, though, is talk. Get to know your teammates and employees. Ask them about their children, their homes, their hobbies. When work feels less like work and more like a relationship, then teams will be more likely to sync towards the same targets.

References
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2013). Reframing organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

When I say resources, I mean your team. As said in the networking section, it cannot be expected that you will excel in every topic. Know your weaknesses and build a team that makes you stronger. If you are exception at budgeting, but not that great at building relationships, then seek out extroverted, charismatic employees. Take those individuals with you to important meetings where networking might be important. Do the same with your team. Evaluate all the needs of the organization. Discover which individuals excel in the necessary areas. Hire new employees who can fill in the gaps.

Create opportunities for employees and yourself to learn. The world is constantly changing, especially a world centered around technology. Find ways to obtain training for employees so that they will stay up to date and current, or even ahead of the trend. Make sure to reward or recognize employees when they accomplish learning goals.

Technology is an ever changing field with ever changing demands. Education is a relatively unchanging field with ever changing demands. The conflict between these two make education technology leadership a particularly difficult task. Difficult but not impossible. As leaders in this field, you should take care to manage those five principles listed in this presentation. Evaluate your effectiveness in each area. Work towards improvement in an area of weakness, and after a time, reevaluate. Leaders should be in the habit of assessing their abilities, working towards improvement, and then reassessing to determine new needs and goals.

Good luck!