“Transformational Leadership”
Leadership Model Paper
Madinah Kelley
New Jersey City University
"I have included all of the required components as outlined in the syllabus."
The transformational leadership model is most known to be associated with a “vision to setting directions; restructuring and realigning the organisation; developing staff and curriculum; and involvement with the external community”(Burns, 1978). From this, seven discrete leadership practices were formulated to describe the characteristics of a quality leader. These characteristics included: “building school vision and establishing goals, creating a productive school culture, providing intellectual stimulation, offering
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Leaders in education carry out the instructional goals and visions of their school community. They are expected to be resilient and flexible people who are driven to prepare, motivate, inspire, guide, and empower teachers and supporting staff to effectively equip our students with timeless skills they will need. Offering ongoing support, workshops and PD’s to teacher will strengthening the school's organizational structure.
The transformational model, seems to allow room and movement for administrators and school leaders to take on a combinations of leadership techniques without being locked into one and most importantly, it demonstrates a strong initiative to give all staff members of the building a valuable role in the process of leadership. While the transformational leader may be the overall leader of the school pack, in education, teachers are the leaders of the classroom and students are the leaders of their education by taking accountability for the academic progress and growth as
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So establishing a shared purpose and clarifying the roles and objectives of all key players in the school community will lead to high performance expectations and accountability for both teachers and students. This promoting effective pedagogical, instructional leadership and increased student growth outcomes all lead under the model of Transformational Leadership.
References:
Bass, B, & Avolio,B. (eds.) (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage.
Spahr, P. (2015). Transformational Leadership: Definition, Examples, Future. [online] Online.stu.edu. Available at: https://online.stu.edu/transformational-leadership/#definition [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017].
Transformational Leadership - A Matter of Perspective. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://www.advanc-ed.org/source/transformational-leadership-matter-perspective “true transformation happens not in silo-structured organizations but in organization that respect all of their elements, maintain their interconnectedness and have a common
Dr. Tanisha L. Heaston, principal of Treadwell Elementary talks to me about educational change. In my first meeting and interview with her, she displays many if not all the leadership benchmarks of a Change Master and Facilitator. Defined by McEwan (2003), a Change Master is a highly effective principal who is flexible and futuristic. A realistic leader who is able to both motivate and manage change in an organized, positive, and enduring fashion. As a Change Master, she uses a situational approach since every school community requires somewhat different skills. Dr. Heaston respects change resisters, procures resources for her school, and trusts her teams which aligns with ISLLC Standard Six.
According to Blase, Blase, and Phillips (2010) educational leaders in high preforming schools effectively balance administrative and instructional leadership and provide stability, predictability and support. The current paradigm of educational leadership is management of facility, budget, school safety, and student discipline. Administrators must place more emphasis on methods to balance the responsibility of instructional leadership. It will require effective leadership characterized by their ability to redesign their schools into an effective organization. This can be done by a leader’s willingness to take risk. Risk taking would involve the leaders’ commitment to work collaboratively with teachers to set school wide and classroom goals suited to meet the unique needs of the students. It would require educational leaders to refuse to adopt a manufactured educational program but to make a commitment to their students and teachers to create a learning environment that is unique and relevant. Educational leaders would evaluate teachers on the effectiveness of their instructional practices. Each teacher would be held accountable for data that supports the need for goals developed for their classroom and methods used to track progress, use of instructional strategies, how assessment will be incorporated to drive instruction and monitor learning, and the effective use of assessment
...selbein and Cohen, “organizations that take the time to teach leadership are far ahead of the competition. By becoming familiar with the transformational leadership approach and combining the four I's, managers can become effective leaders in the business world.” (1999, p. 263). Transformational leadership can be applied in one-on-one or group situations. Using this approach, the manager (leader) and the associates (followers) are “transformed” to enhance job performance and help the organization be more productive and successful. All of these leaders have the attributes mentioned here. History will decide the greater impact they had on society as it is being written every day. Therefore, the qualities of transformational leadership make the essence of transformational management and the key to successful management of transformational organizational changes.
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
Bass (1990) states that transformational leadership is identified by different patterns of behavior. Firstly , transformational leadership delivers the charisma to be a leader in order to gain respect and trust. Secondly, the characteristics of a leader show efforts to change a purpose of the transformation process and to effectively communicate. Finally, transformational leadership proposes that leaders treat employees individually to show them attention and provide them coaching and advice to show that you care about your employees. However, Wang and Howell (2010) claim that transformational leadership is in every individual.This means an individual can develop their potential to enhance their abilities and skills to improve and overcome any weaknesses. In relation to group work transformational leadership helps to grow common values and beliefs, and to inspire group members to reach their group goals. In this type of situation, leaders treat equally towards members and to make them feel comfortable. However, on occasions problems occur during team work which puts a leader into a situation to overcome the condition. For example, if one of my team members has no belief in me to lead the group, my attitude towards the group and the member will change as they have shown a lack of confidence and interest in teamwork. According to Novicevic, Harvey, Buckley, Brown & Evans (2006) explains that authentic leadership is when a leader shows their individual responsibility in what they were responsible for in their organization. Novicevic, Harvey, Buckley, Brown & Evans (2006) discusses a particular style of leadership which is the matrix of executive leadership. This style of leadership occurs when a leader has lost confidence in them self. The
In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss the many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individual throughout the change process. School Leadership that Works In School Leadership that Works, Marzano introduces twenty-one responsibilities of a school leader (see Appendix A). These leadership responsibilities are used in the two change orders discussed by Marzano, McNulty and Waters (2005).
According to Yoder-Wise (2015), a leader can be defined as, “an individual who works with others to develop a clear vision of the preferred future and to make that vision happen” (p 35). As employees, we often have our own ideal of a good leader, which may be influenced by experiences and perception of workplace norms. While one’s opinion of an effective leader may vary, there are several recognized leadership theories. The following will focus on the transformational leadership approach.
The last issue to address is leadership. This role is challenging, but with commitment and determination it can be done. Strategies that I can take to encourage great leadership is to first build trust and confidence by fulfilling the school’s mission, vision, policy, and working environment (Drexler, 2007) on a daily basis. To be involved in school activities, in the classroom, at PTO meetings, and community affiliations will establish strong leadership skills. Providing valuable feedback, strategically planning to improve the school, and encouraging community support are other strategies that can be used to enhance leadership.
The school houses approximately 1,100 students with 90 staff members ,1 assistant principal. The school vision is to increase academic performance for all students in all content areas by providing teachers with the appropriate tools to improve the teaching and the learning of students. The Instructional Leadership team will address the challenges of encountering the necessities of all students by structuring and leading the strategic plan designed to change the teaching and learning. Through the assistance from the Instructional Leadership team, the school leader will ensure the leadership tasks take place and are achieved proficiently and successfully. Consequently, the Instructional Leadership team can provide leadership in the areas of problem solving, professional development, mentoring and coaching.
Transformational leadership is one of the most popular leadership styles. According to Kendrick (2011), “Transformational leadership involves four factors: 1. idealized influence, 2. inspirational motivation, 3. intellectual stimulation, and 4. individual consideration.” These four factors make transformational leadership have an impact on followers. The goal of transformational leadership is to cause a positive change in individuals, help motivate them, and develop a leader within each individual.
Thomas Sergiovanni (2015) describes three essential dimensions of leadership as “the heart, head, and hand of leadership.” The heart describes those characteristics within the school leader that reflect personal “beliefs, values, and dreams.” The head of leadership refers to the practice of teaching and educating. The hand of leadership reflects actions taken by school leaders with respect to management behaviors. (p. 5) Within these elements, there is room for personal choice in how leadership is practiced and it is incumbent on new principals to find an individual leadership style that responds to the uniqueness of each school.
The Characteristics of a Successful Transformational Leader I Have Experienced. A transformational leader in education I experienced used several leadership approaches to form a team of teachers to change the school’s culture due to gang intrusion (See Table 2). How I would Use Four Leadership Approaches Within an Educational Setting of Interest I am a transformational leader. As a substitute after retirement, I had the opportunity to work in an alternative school to fill a position for six months due to the pregnancy of the teacher.
Teachers and leaders work and communicate together to initiate changes that’s needed to build new ways of learning, sharing and accessing knowledge, then putting it to work in the lives of all students. At my school we have learned education, science, technology and hardworking devoted staff members are the key to preparing our students for a great global education and future.
Transformational leadership focuses on what the leader can accomplish instead of his personal characteristics and how his relationship with others. This leader “helps to bring about major, positive changes by moving group members beyond their self-interests and toward the good of the group, organization, or society (Dubrin, 2007, p. 84). The essence of this leader is to develop and transform people.
Education is a very important aspect in the life of a child. The level of success a student has in the classroom is greatly influenced by their teachers. Students, as well as their parents, depend on the teachers to guide them through their education. But who guides a teacher to perform successfully in the classroom? Principals and teachers play an important role in schools. A good relationship among school leaders and teachers is necessary and play an important role in making improvements in the school. Leadership refers to the “process in which one person successfully exerts influence over others to reach desired objectives”. (Okoji, 2015) Good leadership involves honesty, vision, confidence and commitment. It is the ability to inspire a