Utilizing digital tools to enable participation and promote respect

Abstract

We study the terms respect, employee empowerment, participative leadership and management, and technostress by exploring the literature and previous research. We categorize the current tools of a Finnish higher education institution used for participative leadership in the IAP2 framework of public participation. Based on the categorization we analyze the current situation and create a future vision for the leaders of the organization. We create three recommendations to enable better digital participation: 1) more focus on collaboration and empowerment instead of just informing and consulting, 2) discovering the possibilities and fixing the roles of the chosen digital tools, and 3) leaders could learn from the educators. We also suggest concrete actions for how to achieve the goals.