Leadership in exceptional times : a case study of remote leadership in a vocational college
Huovila, Tiina (2021)
2021
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202104255714
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202104255714
Tiivistelmä
Remote leadership was introduced rapidly during the spring of 2020 as Covid-19 turned most of the educational institutions into remotely operated learning and teaching institutions. The Covid-19 pandemic hit at a time when Finnish Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions had recently gone through an extensive reform. This study focuses on experiences of remote leadership in a Finnish vocational college. A case study was conducted in the fall of 2020. The year 2020 was a launching point for many organisations for testing their capabilities and experimenting with new practices of operating remotely.
The literary review presents how some of the most important qualities in remote leadership are trust and communication. The results of the case study comply with that. On top of communication, the staff would like to see even more presence and communality from the leaders. Communication is also needed to keep the goals and expected outcomes clear. In the staff’s definitions a good remote leader is available, encouraging and trusting. The respondents work under many different leaders and supervisors and their experiences of remote leadership were discovered to cover a large spectrum.
The findings indicate that in remote leadership it is overall leadership that is expected by the staff. Leaders should focus on ways to make it more visible. Without communicating how matters are progressing, leadership can seem vague and distant. Availability combined with communication creates an atmosphere of trust. A good leader knows how to select the right tools to be able to create a communicative and a trusting working environment even remotely.
The literary review presents how some of the most important qualities in remote leadership are trust and communication. The results of the case study comply with that. On top of communication, the staff would like to see even more presence and communality from the leaders. Communication is also needed to keep the goals and expected outcomes clear. In the staff’s definitions a good remote leader is available, encouraging and trusting. The respondents work under many different leaders and supervisors and their experiences of remote leadership were discovered to cover a large spectrum.
The findings indicate that in remote leadership it is overall leadership that is expected by the staff. Leaders should focus on ways to make it more visible. Without communicating how matters are progressing, leadership can seem vague and distant. Availability combined with communication creates an atmosphere of trust. A good leader knows how to select the right tools to be able to create a communicative and a trusting working environment even remotely.