Samuel talks about collaboration more in a business place but i think it is always relevant. He believes that online collaboration should compliment face to face collaboration and meeting. He promotes online  collaboration and seems to have many benefits for this.

• it allows creative power of spontaneous interaction. Meaning that you can interact with colleagues at any given time not just within a certain meeting time. I’m sure we have all had those middle of the night thought or ideas. Online communication allows us to get these off our mind, share them with colleagues then and there and then hopefully get back to sleep.
• There is less waiting. You can search for the answers your self when not being locked into the meeting time
• It allows greater diversity of talent and knowledge with your team. You are not limited to working with the people in your office or school but people in your community or even globally.

Online collaboration definitely has its benefits but for me there is nothing better than personal contact. Online and in person collaboration can work intertwined to get the best results out of everyone.

Tracey Ezards video presentation was very interesting and straight to the point. I found it clear to understand and easy to follow. In order to be a leader you need to collaborate with a variety of people and build, develop and maintain trust. Ezard states that scientifically the brain releases and sparks happy feel good chemical s to allow us to learn, grow, trust, problem solve and be rational, building positive relationships.

Ezard states that there are 5 steps to build trust in someone therefore build positive relationship and work collaboratively whilst being a good leader.

1. Discover – be curious and interested in people. this makes them trust you and feel important and valued.
2. Admit – admit mistakes, flaws, mistakes. own where you went wrong, fix your problems and sometimes be a little vulnerable. It makes you more human therefore easier to trust.
3. Appreciate – Appreciate the people around you, their skills, knowledge, ideas.
4. Evolve – be accountable, learn from your mistakes.
5. align – align what you say with what you do. Be authentic. I think actions speak louder than words. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.

Plotinsky claims that there are 6 main traits to be an effective school leader. An effective school leader

1. listens
2. collaborate
3. relates ( as they are or were a teachers themselves)
4. has clear, transparent and achievable goals
5. don’t monopolise attention
6. genuinely cares.

Everything i am reading comes back to leaders being human, authentic and relatable and genuine.

Samuel, A. (2015, April 1). Collaborating online is sometimes better than face-to-face. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2015/04/collaborating-online-is-sometimes-better-than-face-to-face

Ezard, T. [BastowInstitute]. (2015, July 27). Building trust and collaboration – Tracey Ezard [Video]. https://youtu.be/kUkseAdKyek

Plotinsky, M. (2021, July 12). Leading by Example: Six Traits of Effective School Leaders .Education World. https://www.educationworld.com/teachers/leading-example-six-traits-effective-school-leaders