Effective Leadership Styles for an Educational or Training Institution - Essay Example

Effective Leadership Styles for an Educational or Training Institution Introduction Leadership is a way of motivating a group to enable them to achieve their aims. It also involves being responsible for the group as a whole. A leader is either appointed by the senior levels of management or elected by the group. However, it has been argued that a leader can not have all the skills required therefore the optimum will be to have as a leader someone who is flexible but when it is required s/he will let the leadership to the others. Leader and Manager – Definitions Although no ultimate definition of leadership exists (Yuki, 2002), the majority of leadership definitions reflect some basic elements, including “group”, “influence” and “goal” (Bryman, 1992). A general definition would be that “a leader is someone who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal”. There are 3Ps that are related with the term “leader” and these are: People, Purpose and Person. A leader is a person that is deeply committed to the goal and s/he will try to achieve it even if nobody follows him/her. A leader is someone who has a personal vision and in order to achieve it s/he needs the help of others. The leader should communicate his/her vision in such a way that the followers will share it and the goal will become a common goal. The leader needs the trust of the followers. Some people are more effective than others at influencing people. This effectiveness has been attributed to leadership styles, persuasion skills and the personal attributes of the leader. A leader is someone that brings big changes and innovations, someone who has handled effectively big crises whereas a manager is someone who improves the effectiveness of an organization at a given place and at a controlled course. Leader and Bureaucrat – differences Leader Bureaucrat S/he is always available S/he is “invisible” S/he is a good listener S/he is chatty S/he handles effectively difficult situations S/he avoids situations S/he simplifies situations S/he complicates things S/he is tolerant S/he is intolerant S/he trusts the others S/he does not trust S/he is responsible S/he looks for scapegoats S/he gives recognition to the others S/he presents other people’s work as his/hers S/he prefers the face to face discussions S/he prefers memos and reports S/he is stable S/he is instable S/he admits his/her mistakes S/he “never makes mistakes” and blames others S/he is open S/he is secretive S/he keeps his/her promises S/he never keeps his/her promises S/he has a simply decorated office S/he has a luxurious office S/he takes care of the others S/he thinks that only his/her superiors are right S/he is fair S/he lets the committees take decisions S/he is decisive Unsociable – isolated S/he is social S/he is arrogant The four leadership style theory The four styles are: The Authoritative (the work performance is important, the human factor comes second) The Paternalistic (the work performance is important but the leader takes care of the personnel) The Participative (the leader shares his authority with the employees) The Non – Interventionist (the leader is not interested neither in the work nor in the people) Leadership styles According to Goleman (2000), the leadership styles are the following: Coercive. This is the least effective since it erodes employees’ pride. The leader here creates terrifies and demeans the employees at the slightest misstep. As a style it can be used in emergency situations. Authoritative. The leader has a vision, s/he motivates people by showing them how their work fits in the vision of the organization. This approach fails when the leader has a team of experts but it is a style which is effective in most business situations. Affiliative. The leader focuses on strong emotional relations and then he receives the benefits i.e. employees loyalty. S/he offers positive feedback. As a style it is positive but it should be better used when the leader wants to improve communication and increase morale. Democratic. The employees have a say in decisions and how they do their work. As a style, it is positive when the leader is uncertain about the best direction to take and when employees are not competent to offer advice. Pacesetting. The leader is very demanding and sets high standards. Employees feel overwhelmed. This style should be used sparingly but it can work well when employees are highly competent. Coaching. The leader encourages the employees and s/he helps them identify their potential. The impact of this style is very positive although from the six styles it is the one used least often. As a style is particularly good when employees are aware of their weaknesses but it does not work well when employees are resistant to change. Modern Types of Leaders Joe Jaworski in his book Synchronicity: the inner path of leadership refers to transforming leadership. He suggests that the fundamental choice that facilitates the real leaders in all situations is the choice to serve life. Jaworski was strongly influenced by the theories of Bohm, Varela & Maturana and he claims that leadership is about learning how to shape the future and create new realities, rather than how to react to the present. The leader has the ability to envision something bigger and larger and in addition s/he is able to materialize his/her vision. The basic characteristics of this type of leadership are the following: Charismatic influence that creates vision and a sense of duty, it makes people proud and it gains respect and trust. Inspired motivation that promotes intelligence, rational thinking and careful problem-solving. Individualized approach that gives attention to the staff, treats each employee individually, supports and advises him/her. Some additional characteristics of this type of leadership are: Creating and maintaining self knowledge. Appreciating the nature of leadership per se. Focusing on ideas that express interconnection rather than separateness. Paying attention to values, seeking the why rather than benefit. The ability to understand the social complexity and the synthesis of teams that are capable to create something new and The development of adequate awareness of the environment and its context. Megatrends in education The global trend is to have autonomous educational institutions. The short term expectations that derive from this are the following: The structural reformation of education will affect the leadership framework and philosophy of management Developments in technology especially in information management will trigger the next reshuffle of educational philosophy. Different understanding of the educational profession. Strengthen incentives for those working in schools Enhancing the personal image of the teacher regardless of school collective presence. Enhanced and expanded role of educational leaders not only at school level but also at the sociopolitical level. The future educational leader should take into consideration the changes in the society and realize that management is primarily a social function and a liberal arts. It is obvious that if the term education is extended, then the importance of educational leadership will have a more complex role in order to achieve high economic, scientific and social performance. The strategic educational leadership can be defined in operational terms as follows: The modern leader is continuously updated on local, social, national and international trends, s/he distinguishes the "megatrends” so as to be able to confront them at school and at education in general. He shares his knowledge with other leaders who are in the educational environment and who have common interests. He establishes structures and procedures to allow school priorities and strategies for the future. He focuses on issues of strategic importance to the school community. He monitors and controls strategies in relation to the wider environment. He facilitates and contributes the ongoing review. Leadership and management in educational institutions Leadership Quality: The quality of leadership in educational institutions plays a primary role. A key factor in effective education is the right leadership, which will show understanding towards the needs of the staff and of students and it will have a sense of proportion and dedication to work in order to earn the respect and appreciation of teachers, students and parents. It is the leadership that will take the administrative style that is focused not only on the results of the organization but also on human relations - it is the motivational and problem-solving style. The passive – political style is the most inappropriate, here the resistance to change is the rule. In this case, people feel threatened, they are judgmental, they do not propose new ideas and they are interested only in their personal prestige. In many countries, the leadership style of the principal is usually the transactional one. If the principal is not allowed to take initiatives then, there is no way that the transformational style of leadership appears. Goal: The school staff has visible and clearly defined goals. A clear sense of orientation exists. Schools that do not have clear goals and strategy can not be effective and efficient. Structure: The requirements of the job determine the structure and not the power, the authority or compliance. Process: The decisions are taken at the level that has the necessary information and there is no escalation to the top management. The communication is good willed, open and without distortions. The conflict of ideas and not individuals is encouraged. The ideas are examined by value and not by their origin. People: The personality, integrity and freedom of each individual are respected. A special interest is given to internal rewards and everybody’s work is recognized. Realism: The situations are treated as such, improvements are planned on the basis of the critical and reliable information that is gotten by the feedback mechanisms. Environment: The school is perceived as an open system integrated into a complex environment in which it interacts incessantly. Balance: All the factors are interdependent and should be balanced. No effective educational change can take place without improving the working lives of teachers. Colleague climate. Common colleague professional culture. The educational leader of the future The modern high performance leadership wants to achieve a better managerial result but in order to achieve it, it needs new experiences, skills and ideas so as to develop new kind of partnerships both inside and outside the educational organization. More specifically, th educational leader of the future needs to develop: More self – confidence and self – knowledge. Emotional intelligence. S/he must understand the needs of the others. Communication skills. Effective use of power and authority in the context of overall quality of cooperation. Giving and receiving feedback. A future vision in order to be able to inspire and activate consciences. Think logically and set clear goals and priorities. Appropriate use of his/her expertise. To have consistency between the theoretical design and the implementation of projects and take responsibility and protect the previous goals. However, there are some basic questions that need to be asked about the self-control of the future educational leader and these are: Am I honest and moral? Am I a responsible person even when I take risks? Can I listen the others? Can I discuss with the others? Why should they trust me? Can I adopt new ideas and techniques? Am I scared of the unknown? Can I cooperate and communicate in the modern electronic environment of transferring knowledge and information? Can I expand my educational philosophy and think of school as part of a general system that is continuously developed? How flexible am I? If the answers are positive then the educational leadership of the future can see its role in relation to other factors that constitute the challenges of our time. Conclusion The style of leadership that needs to be implemented depends on the strategy of the educational institution and the degree of change that wishes to materialize, so the type of leadership can vary from authoritative , participative up to non-interventionist. A leader of an educational organization has to handle two types of staff: the administrative and the teachers. So , it is not possible to have a single leadership style but rather a combination of them because the leader has to handle experts and non – experts and in addition s/he has to take into consideration the general macro – environment. In general, a successful educational leader should inspire trust, respect and pride to his/her employees. When s/he has to deal with problem solving, s/he has to look for new perspectives by also taking into consideration the moral consequences of his/her actions. At the same time, s/he should not hesitate to “spend” time on training and leading his/her people according to their special characteristics and needs. References Axelrod, R.H., Block P. (2002), Terms of Engagement: Changing the Way We Change Organizations, Ingram Pub Services. Bedeian, A. G., Gleuck W. F. (1983), Management, Dreyden Press, Chicago. Bryman, A. (1992), Charisma and Leadership in Organizations, Sage, London. 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