The mission of the future ready movement is to increase digital learning opportunities for all students. Obviously, a task this large will require effort from more than one stakeholder. This is why collaborative leadership teams are uniquely well-positioned in order to help improve student outcomes by becoming future ready themselves.

One easy way to do this is to institute and encourage the use of micro-credentials by the collaborative leadership team. This is a powerful way to ensure that all team members are focused on developing their edtech skills in an organized approach. It also permits specialization by the team so that resources can be maximized.

Another way to create a future ready leadership team is to stay abreast of the latest developments in the future ready movement. An easy way to do this is to follow the official future ready account on Twitter. Or, if resources permit, one or more team members could attend one of their free regional events. Either way, the advantages of a team can be leveraged by planning and focusing attention so that team members can aid each other.

The future ready collaborative leadership team needs to have excellent digital citizenship skills itself. Of course, most adults did not develop these skills in school, and so the project may require some effort. Here are some issues to consider:

• Are we protecting our data? This is not a simple task—as the frequent data breaches by large companies show—but will require effort from your leadership team.
• Are we maintaining an appropriate digital footprint? This is an opportunity for each member of the team to model the kinds of digital citizenship that they want students to develop—they not only avoid cyberbullying themselves, but consistently act as “upstanders” and not “bystanders” when others are mistreated.
• Are we vetting digital media appropriately? Recent research has been discouraging in its reports of the skills gaps found in both children and adults in their ability to adequately vet digital media. This is where a collaborative leadership team can really shine, as each member can contribute the requisite background skills to making vetting a manageable task.
• How are our community partnerships? These partnerships are a key component of the future ready model, but they require a lot of careful tending. The future ready team leverages these relationships to maximize their influence.
• How is our infrastructure? It’s easy to ignore this aspect of operations—until a massive problem appears. But the future ready team always considers their infrastructure and what improvements may be warranted.