Digital Leadership

Changing Paradigms for Changing Times

Sheninger’s Digital Leadership, second edition is straight from the heart of practice and it shows. Well advanced and consolidated from the first edition, more than anyone else Sheninger has integrated technology, learning, and change leadership. The seven pillars of learning are comprehensive. Leadership for quality implementation is captured beautifully. And the prominent positioning of efficacy and competencies nails impact. Digital Leadership is comprehensive for educators who want to advance learning with the latest know-how.

If you were not an inspired leader and advocate for technology before reading this book you will be by the end of it. As technology advances and becomes a way of being for students, Eric challenges school leaders not only to keep up but to excel. The book is thought provoking, encouraging, and most important practical for today’s leaders.

I’m glad to see that Sheninger revisits Digital Leadership for a second time. There is great value in the fact that Eric looked at this topic through a lens of efficacy during this revisit. He focuses on the fact that it’s not that educators are resistant to technology, but that they often don’t have the confidence to keep up with the changing nature of it all, and Eric presents us all with a way to do that.

Digital Leadership is quite simply a tour de force of a book. It is timely, relevant, and essential reading for those leading educational change within a fast and furious digital world. The book is fundamentally about learning and pedagogy rather than software or hardware. It is a manifesto for change in a digital age and is fundamentally concerned with using technology to enhance the learning outcomes and life chances of all students. It is a must read!

This book will equip leaders to model the skills, competencies, and pillars of Digital Leadership like never before. One of the biggest misnomers of this generation is the idea that leadership is an act of knowing. The thing that’s truly missing in many schools is modeling. Sheninger’s Digital Leadership (2nd Edition) tackles the leadership gap head on by moving leaders from knowing the way to showing the way.

There can be a perceived hysteria when it comes to integrating technology into education, especially from a leadership perspective. As an administrator, I know how full our plate already is. This book helps simplify what YOU can do as a leader on your campus or in your district. The problem is our students today crave an environment that we struggle to provide. Sheninger provides a calming, thoughtful framework in Digital Leadership. Educators of all levels will benefit to his unlocking of a “solution” that combines where most districts are and where we should all strive to be. It is full of sound, relevant information that guides strategic thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and decision making—all to the benefit of the ones we serve. There are plenty of people lining up to offer up problems when it comes to how to lead in this digitally focused era, thankfully, we have Digital Leadership to help offer solutions.

I’m thrilled that Eric decided to put out a second edition of Digital Leadership. Since the first edition’s release back in 2014, we’ve seen changes in the digital landscape due to advances in technology. As school leaders, we must continue to adapt to these shifts in order to lead sustainable and meaningful change in our schools. As a highly acclaimed educator, leader, writer and speaker, Eric has dedicated his career to providing pedagogical frameworks, practical ideas, and real life examples that he has gathered from practitioners in the schools in which he serves. Regardless of your role in schools, I am confident you will find this second edition applicable to your work and inspire you to want to shift your practices as you continue to evolve as an educator.

The role of a leader isn’t to tell others what to do. It’s to show them what they can become. The world of education doesn’t change annually, it changes daily. The digital connection to how we lead is an ever-changing landscape and one all leaders need to knows how to navigate. Creating leadership capacity in others moves the whole system. Eric Sheninger not only provides a pathway to get there, but he also provides the connections to move forward. The intersection of ISTE standards, Future Ready Frameworks, and organizational change makes this a must read for leaders in a changing world.

Five years ago, Eric Sheninger cemented the importance of digital leadership at all levels of a school district. In the time since the first book’s release, the 4th industrial revolution has continued to accelerate changes on the outside of the school walls. To remain relevant throughout this evolution, school leaders must work to create the learning experiences today’s modern learners need to thrive in their future workforce. In this second edition, Sheninger solidifies his leadership pillars, through a refined underpinning of evidence and research, to ensure efficacy and deeper learning experiences, while avoiding the low level fluff that has pervaded the education space. If you want to ensure a return on instruction and work to create schools that are future ready, this book will be a foundational support for your journey.

Eric Sheninger has done it again! As I read through the second edition of Digital Leadership, it was clear to me that the title of the book alone tells a very “compelling story.” Eric is not one who simply studied digital leadership and then started consulting on it—he walked digital leadership for years as a highly successful principal. He literally led his school digitally and resultantly the school experienced tremendous success. Through Digital Leadership, he has taken those strategies and infused them into this invaluable second edition. If you  are in school leadership and you are looking for proven strategies toward successfully incorporating technology into your academic program, the second edition of Digital Leadership is your resource.