There are various styles of leadership that can be observed in our school. The school director would best fit the description of constructive transactional leadership, as he sets very clear goals, provides feedback and the staff generally achieve expected performance goals (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005, p. 14).
Further, the leaders of our school fulfil the three general functions of the instructional leader, as defined by Hallinger, Murphy, Weil, Mesa, and Mitman (in Marzano et al., 2005, p.19), i.e.:
- defining the school’s mission,
- managing curriculum and instruction, and
- promoting a positive school climate.
As the management of our school has many levels, there seem to be random communication issues. While it is understood that one would approach the leader closest to her/him in the line of management, i.e. the year leader, subject/phase leader or the principal, the director of the school has expressed an ‘open-door policy’ and encourages his staff to go directly to him whenever needed. It can then be confusing for staff to decide whether to skip some management positions and go straight to the director, which can create a feeling of disloyalty to the lower management, or to follow the lines of management strictly, whereby risking their problem might get lost or misinterpreted on the (long) way up. Should there be clearer guidelines about this, or is it in fact a plus that staff is free to talk to any of their leaders? How open should the lines of communication throughout the organisation be to work efficiently?
Questionnaire
The xQ questionnaire results indicate my high commitment to school and personal motivation. At the same time I have realised that while the overall organisation’s goals and mission are clear to all staff, our unit/departmental goals are not so clearly set or visible to others. This should be set as our priority leadership issue to work on.
Quiz
Based on the Leadership Styles Quiz results, I appear to be a “democratic” leader. It is a very effective style as it motivates and encourages others to participate, but more so in ideal situations. It means that it might be necessary to modify this style in different situations (situational leadership).
Ideal style?
I personally strive to become a transformational leader with strong aspects of servant leadership, which I believe should be a part of any leadership style, as it positions the leader into the centre, not the top of the organisation, where he/she helps others instead of controlling them (Marzano et al., 2005, p.17).
I am inspired by ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey (as cited in Marzano et al., 2005, p. 21), which include putting ‘first things first’ and beginning ‘with the end in mind’ (interestingly, just what my father always used to tell me!). I agree with Covey’s idea that the best use of a person’s time is the action that not only addresses the problems at hand but also is consistent with his/her purpose in life (Marzano et al., 2005).
A good leader needs to know and understand their staff and base their actions on individual situation. At the same time, the main traits of a good leader remain constant and should include:
- clear vision,
- high expectations,
- self-confidence,
- being supportive, and
- being a role model.
Finally, one has to keep in mind that leadership is ‘the potential outcome of interactions between groups of people, rather than specific traits or skills of a single person’ (Robinson, Hohepa, & Lloyd in Townsend, 2011, p.98)
References:
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005). Some theories and theorists on leadership. School leadership that works: From research to results (pp. 13-27). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved May 29, 2014 from www.csuau.eblib.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/patron/Read.aspx.
Townsend, T. (2011). School leadership in the twenty-first century: Different approaches to common problems? School Leadership and Management, 31(2), 93-103. Retrieved May 29, 2014, from http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/13632434.2011.572419