A really common issue for leaders in Higher Ed and elsewhere is worrying about “is it just me who is struggling with this?”. When everyone works from home and all you see is a carefully curated or blurred background with a professional, well-groomed headshot framed by a flattering camera angle, it can be hard to get a sense of how others are coping day to day and easy to feel that you are the only one who is struggling.
I think this is where blogging can not only help, it can become a professional practice superpower.
Open practice in a leadership position is different from sharing things like new publications, or blogging about exciting projects. Many professionals in leadership roles maintain public profiles or a web presence like a blog. What I’m interested in is not necessarily about having a blog, but about the practice of blogging in itself.
The process of getting whatever you want to say in a post and press publish.
It’s about the joy of blogging, the sheer exuberance of having a space, a domain, to make your own. A vault or a personal archive as I’ve blogged about before.
It opens up a space to share the practice of leading, of managing people, not just the end results – and the reflective space it opens up can be incredibly powerful.
There are however some barriers to blogging, especially in a leadership role. When you are everyone’s boss, it’s not always easy to maintain an authentic space on the open web. So I use a couple of strategies to blog about my professional practice, specifically:
- Choose a format that works: I vary how and where I blog, from my main WordPress site to voice recordings.
- Modify how openly to share: from public, to semi-private to fully locked-down depending on topic.
- Keep a list for the long term: I could use a tool to track projects, publications and other activities for me, but there’s great value for me in the act of processing what I have done and reflecting on it as I make and update the list.
To conclude, I also want to share one more strategy that I have found particularly useful over the years, which is to engage in conversational blogging, or co-leadership conversations. There are a range of conversational approaches that I have used to create the space needed to reflect together and blogging can be a great tool for that, too.
Thanks for reading my contribution to Reclaim Open 🙂
Link to the full post: https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5750
Link to blog: https://marendeepwell.com/
Session Resources:
More to read and listen to:
- Reviewing my tech stack III: Openness in Practice
- What’s so important about open practice for hybrid leaders?
- My personal vault. Or what I learnt from a decade of progress tracking
- How to get your blogging mojo back.
- OEG Voices Podcast Studio with Amanda Coolidge, Marcela Morales, and Maren Deepwell
Comments Archive
reclaimhosting: Welcome to the Chat
maren: Wow! Really awesome to have the DS106 daily create session just now.
Pilot: I think that blogging the way you do it is also a form of leading in itself, like leading by example
Pilot: The way I think about and approach reflection has really changed just as a result of the way you blog and talk about blogging
maren: Thanks, Pilot! Glad it's useful and always inspired by your posts (especially the one for later today!)
Pilot: Different topics benefitting from different formats, and the idea that blogging can happen at different levels of publicness, also really help solidify it as professional practice. Learning how to say what you want to say, and keeping in mind that not everything has to be polished, is super important and something I feel like I'm always working on
Christina Hendricks: I definitely agree with the point that when in a leadership position it can be harder to, as you put it, maintain an authentic space out in public. Partly due to that and due to being so incredibly busy I have hardly blogged since being in a leadership position. Also because when I do, the posts tend to be really long and take a long time! I want to explore shorter, concise reflections that keep me blogging more often.
Pilot: Haha thanks! That one definitely came out of the reflective practices I've learned from you
Pilot: @Christina +1 on wanting to post shorter blog posts more often, instead of feeling like everything has to be the product of long thought
Jim Groom: "It’s about the joy of blogging, the sheer exuberance of having a space, a domain, to make your own." This is 100% why I do it
maren: Yes, it's something I've often talked about with colleagues in roles like that. Shorter posts are definitely the way to go to keep the practice alive.
Jim Groom: This is the other 100% A vault or a personal archive as I’ve blogged about before.
maren: @jim, yes, that's a joy for me, too. Having an archive. (I can search mine for "We did it again" and you always come up ;)
Jim Groom: @maren hahaha
maren: I wrote this post because I've heard from a lot of folk in edtech getting more senior roles and loosing their voice. I think Bonnie is going to talk about this a little in her keynote tomorrow as well.
Jim Groom: I am trying to blog everyday of November to breakthrough by 4000 posts wall, and I do think short, pithy posts are the key. And in the end it is always better than putting it on any other social media, at least for me---so why not?
Jim Groom: @mare Oh, you mean they don;t talk about their deep depressions? :)
maren: If in doubt, blog about blogging ;)
Jim Groom: @maren haha, it works every time
Sarah: I used to worry about what my institution would think about my blogging, but I stopped caring
maren: @sarah that is a common concern I think. Same if you are job hunting or bidding for something...
Sarah: @maren yes, especially if you are showing that you are not perfect.
maren: I agree completely. For me it's something about being allowed to change your views and have a past that connects us with the open web. I want to own my domain warts and all...
Pilot: One thing I've worried about blogging while job hunting is that I find blogging about projects/tutorials/learning things very valuable, but it also feels like admitting I don't know something that people may be wanting me to know already
LMC: Great post Maren. Your blog has always been an inspiration to me. Particularly love your conversational approach to blogging. These conversations open up all kinds of space for reflection.
Sarah: @pilot a professor once told me never to admit any weaknesses to bureaucrats. I think that's a common concern
maren: @LMC thank you! That's great to hear. And if you ever want to chat conversational blogging, let me know. Always looking for new "willing victims" ;)
Alan aka cogdog: I dream of being as organized as Maren ;-)
LMC: @maren you know me,I'm always happy to talk 😊
maren: @Pilot I hear you. It can be a vulnerable place to be. I often blog things privately if I am not quite comfortable with publishing in the open. In fact my largest blog is completely locked down.
maren: @alan why thank you! Your timeline metaphor always inspires me (and your comments, of course). I would love to be as active at leaving comments as you are.
Alan aka cogdog: I alwasy relish a blog or web site that has personality, flaws over perfection. I have gotten so much more over the years from the imperfect posts.
Pilot: @maren That's news to me (and great to hear). I really need to get into secret blogging
Alan aka cogdog: Leaving comments is in the same vein as your postcards.
Pilot: @Sarah that's such an ominous way to put it but it feels very real, yep
LMC: @ pilot I think having a professional blog can be a real lifeline in times of job insecurity & threats of redundancy. It's so important to have a space to curate your work & your identity that's separate from the institution.
maren: It's interesting to think about how comfort shifts over time, too. I have become a lot more comfortable blogging about things than I was at the beginning.
Pilot: @LMC That's really good to hear, I'll try to keep that close next time I'm hesitating 😊
LMC: @cogdog it's the imperfections that make us interesting & relatable as humans.
Alan aka cogdog: I had a DS106 student long ago that submitted as a post with audio for her portfolio here she did "an interview with herself"
Christina Hendricks: This is such a helpful and inspiring conversation about the value of blogging, long or short, polished or not, with personality showing through!
maren: 100% agree with that
Alan aka cogdog: It seems counterintuitive, I am trying to find where this was used maybe as a DS106 assignment, but I have done it in other courses.
maren: One of the things I often find is that I blog something in a hurry, and then rediscover it months or even years later and see much greater value in it then. Keeping a record of my reflections really adds up over time.
Alan aka cogdog: We did run one where we asked people who had their own domains to self interview https://cogdogblog.com/2018/06/interviewing-your-domain/
maren: That is so interesting, Alan. I was just looking at that link
Sarah: @maren I do that as well :)
LMC: @pilot I did a twitter conference (remember those?) talk about blogging in times of precarity a few years back: https://lornamcampbell.org/cetis/using-wordpress-to-build-an-onlinne-academic-identity/ It really struck a chord with folks at the time https://lornamcampbell.org/higher-education/pressed-conference-the-morning-after-the-night-before/
maren: Oh yes! PressED! That was an awesome format.
Alan aka cogdog: Giving up the mantle of perfection is the most freeing thing to do - I’m Making Crappy Quality Videos on Purpose https://cogdogblog.com/2014/12/crappy-quality-videos/
LMC: @maren PressED was *amazing* and it worked so well with blogging.
maren: If any of you haven't seen it, check out the Senior CMALT portfolio as well. Such a great example of open identity/blogging/practice. https://lornamcampbell.org/senior-cmalt/
maren: I never got my whole portfolio online (other than a google doc) and I always loved this format and found it incredibly useful to express both professional identity and authentic self
Alan aka cogdog: @LMC I miss PressEd so much! That was such a fantastic format
Alan aka cogdog: The Question Should be: Why Are You *Not* Blogging - on conversation style, and Jon Udell's idea of "narrating your work" https://cogdogblog.com/2012/09/the-question/
maren: LOL I love your blog post titles, Alan
LMC: @maren I wrote some blog posts about creating my CMALT portfolio on my blog https://lornamcampbell.org/university-of-edinburgh/cmalt-reflection-and-thanks/ This is getting a bit circular lol 😁
maren: Hey, blogging about blogging about blogging... that's what we're here for!
LMC: @cogdog RIP twitter & PressED. I"m sure the format could be revived on Bluesky or mastodon, but I guess the moment would have to be right.
maren: @LMC interesting how even archiving tweets on your own site didn't last as long as hoped (storify RIP)
LMC: @maren I'm getting dizzy! 😵
maren: We are putting together as RSS feed packet of everyone who is participating (Alan's idea) to help folk set up a new RSS reader or update their feeds. So that should be interesting to help keep this conversation going.
Alan aka cogdog: @maren DO not even get me started about Storify (biting the dust) https://cogdogblog.com/2017/12/storify-bites-the-dust/
LMC: @maren yes, it's sad that so many tweets have disappeared. My own included. I don't suppose there's much we can do about that though.
Alan aka cogdog: Thanks to Martin Hawksey, I have my own twitter archive (even though I have killed all the tweets) https://tweets.cogdogblog.com
LMC: @cogdog ye gods I invested so much. time in Storify 😢
maren: Three Cheers to Martin Hawksey.
Alan aka cogdog: Martin Hawksey, Genius https://cogdogblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wile-genius.jpg
Alan aka cogdog: Hey image links are rendered in chat! woah
Alan aka cogdog: LMC! I just saw it was you from the link click, so good to see you here.
LMC: Martin's twitter wizardry was unparalleled. I should *really* have archived my tweets before nuking my account. I don't know why I didn't.
maren: https://bryanmmathers.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/my-website-is-a-junk-drawer.png
maren: I think I do have most of my archive, but I was so angry I just wanted it gone.
LMC: @cogdog It me! I'm just slowly getting back into the swing of things :)
maren: It's been great to see you here :)
maren: Thank you all for a great hour's chat. I feel very happy to have these conversations this week. Much needed inspiration and reaffirmation.
LMC: @maren hard same. I hung on to my twitter account long after I stopped using it, but got to the stage that I just wanted it gone. I'm still so angry about the whole thing.
Sarah: Thank you for a great blog post @maren
maren: @Sarah can't wait to see the socks when they are finished.
LMC: Yes, thanks for a great post and really thoughtful conversation @maren :)
maren: I envy your knitting prowess
Sarah: @maren I'll make sure I share them on mastodon :)
pete: @maren .. useful and curious .. i think about higher ed leaders at my institution and how reluctant they are to even commit themselves to a position over email .. i wish that i could encourage them to view managing and strategic comms (for instance) as an open practice .. i am encouraged to see how you approach it.
maren: Thanks, Pete! I have much the same experience, hence my efforts :)
maren: Cheers everyone - really enjoyed the conversation🙂