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Leadership is a skill that focuses on achieving set goals of a certain group. This keeps the team motivated and empowered in achieving the set tasks and goals. Leadership aims at getting the best out of the individual team, members for the benefit of the team’s success in achieving the goals. In a team, members expect leaders to lead by examples. Leading by example in a team setting aims at creating a conducive environment for the success of the team.
Successful leadership involves the following: vision (focusing on the long term goals of the team), listening (being able to listen and responding quickly to the instructions), having a strong teamwork and cooperation within the team, having strong relationships in the team and ensuring the teamwork balances, inspiration of the team members in responding to the set tasks and willingness to hard work in achieving the goals of the team, teaching and coaching which involves introducing team members to their individual tasks and giving them freedom to learn and grow while carrying out their activities in the team, and lastly motivation, which entails empowering team members to challenge the set norms (Obolensky, 2010).
In addition, as a successful leader in a team setting, mentoring is a critical skill. It involves parting knowledge and relevant wisdom to team members and as well to the overall team. Therefore, leadership involves focusing on the individual team members and performance of the team.
On the other hand, management is skill focusing on the work and tasks in an organization. Unlike leadership, management focuses on taking account on the available resources in an organization or team setting. The lying distinction between management and leadership is managing resources in a team. Management includes the following activities: planning (this aims at achieving goals and objectives of the team), coordinating (directing tasks), ensuring that there is effective use of resources, decision making and as well problem solving which aims at eliminating individual challenges faced in a team (Obolensky, 2010).
Therefore, management focuses on the contributing factors in achieving goals unlike leadership, which involves with individual team members. Another difference between managers and leaders is the manner in which the styles motivate their team member and as well the overall team in achievement of goals. Leaders set goals and act as spearheaders of the team challenging the status quo. On the other hand, managers have a role of maintaining the status quo of the team. There are different theories and styles of leadership. The essay will focus on leadership theories used in a team (Obolensky, 2010).
As stated earlier, there are different theories applied in leadership. These theories are aims at taking into account the different styles used in leading a team and as well focuses on the performance of a team. On the other hand, there are different styles used in leadership. The different styles used in leadership focuses on getting the tasks of a team being done. They highlight the different methods used by leaders to have the tasks done. Both styles and theories applied in leadership are inter-related. Therefore, in successful leadership, both styles and theories used have an impact on the performance of the team (Farson, 1997).
While leading a team, in order to efficiently elicit others a willingness to follow from me, I would use situational theory of leadership. This theory will gives the leader the best course of action depending on the situational variables (Visser, 2011). Through this theory, I will be able to adjust the leadership theories depending on the changing situations in the team. While leading a team where team members are more knowledgeable in carrying out a given task, this theory will enable me as a leader to use democratic theory in leading the team.
Therefore, in such a case, individual team members will have the opportunity to contribute directly in leading the team. On the other hand, while dealing with a team where as a leader am more knowledgeable than individual team members, situation theory gives me as a leader a chance to alter with the leadership used in the team. In this case, authoritarian style will be most applicable in leading the team. In this setting, I will be involved in decision making and as well in leading the team directly while carrying out the tasks (Obolensky, 2010).
Situation theory of leadership is applicable in different teams. This theory as stated earlier gives the leader chances of altering the team’s styles of carrying out activities aiming at improving the team’s effectiveness. I chose this theory in my leadership setting since it gives me an opportunity to implement other leadership theories (Quinn, 1991). Through situation theory of leadership, implementing other theories such as participative theories will be possible. Participative theory of leadership suggests that an ideal leadership setting is one that takes into account the input of team members into account (Farson, 1997).
Through this theory, when leading a team, they will be elicited to follow me since I will be taking into account their efforts in leadership and as well will their individual contribution to leadership makes them feel relevant and committed in decision making of the team. Unlike other theories, situation theory of leadership allows the leaders to have a direct interrelationship with their team members. In addition, the theory gives the leader privileged rights of allowing input of others in leadership (Visser, 2011).
Other than using theories while leading a team, I will also use democratic leadership style. This style has a bottom-top approach. Through this style, team members will be elicited to follow me since they will have an opportunity in decision making. On the other hand, through this style, there will be empowerment of team members to establish goals. On the other hand, they will have an opportunity to evaluate their own performance through their individual goals. This leadership skill allows for the flow of information up the chain of command from the individual team members. This skill enlightens individual members to follow me as a leader since their contribution in leadership will be significant and as well improves their commitment to the team’s goals through their individual performance evaluation (Quinn, 1991).
In a team faced by complex problems, this leadership style is applicable as it promotes cooperation between team members (Farson, 1997). I chose this leadership style since it gives individual team members a chance to contribute directly to attainment of the goals of the organization. While leading my team using this style, the cost of making wrong decisions reduces since the consultation while making decisions improves. Eliciting members to follow me as a leader while using this style will be possible. This will be through the direct interaction used in decision making and as well while performing tasks. Both theory and style used in this case will elicit a willingness to members to follow me by making them active participants in decision making (Obolensky, 2010).
While aiming at eliciting willingness from others to follow me as a leader, I would use relationship theory of leadership. This focuses on the relationships between leaders and their followers. As a leader, I will have an opportunity to motivate and as well inspire members. This will be through helping members see the importance and the higher group of the task they engage in (Visser, 2011). Through this theory, focusing on individual performance will be easier and as well possible. This theory will assist members in developing their individual willingness to follow me following the inspiration of realizing their potentials through the theory. This theory will assist me as a leader to lead by examples (Quinn, 1991).
Members will have an opportunity of learning morals and ethics from me as their leader and as well will have opportunities of developing their personal potentials. This theory links with the managerial theory where as a leader I will be involved with the supervision of the individual tasks. In addition, members will have an opportunity of realizing their personal goals. Attaining this will be through correcting their personal mistakes once they are detected. On the other hand, rewarding the members motivates them to have a greater input to the team. Therefore, members in my team will be elicited to follow me as their leader in order to be rewarded once they achieve their personal goals (Obolensky, 2010).
While using the theory stated above, in order to elicit willingness of members to follow me as their leader, I will use transformational leadership style. Through this style, I will lead the members by example. As a leader, I will lead by inspiring team members. This will be through enlightening them on the different methods of reaching excellence. Through this style, I will implement change in the members making them passionate and energetic in carrying out their personal tasks.
Transformational leadership style aims at projecting strong belief in attaining team objectives of the team and as well promoting cooperation among team members (Farson, 1997). Therefore, while using this style, members will have the opportunity of learning from the leader. I choose this style in eliciting willingness from members to follow me as a leader since the style provides an opportunity of conversing ideas and as well if there is a need of changing the methods of carrying out a given task (Quinn, 1991).
As from the paper, it is quite clear that the choices of the leadership style and theory use by a leader are dependent on situations and aims of the leader. On the other hand, cooperation of team members is dependent on the leadership skills applied by the leader. Therefore, a leader plays a significant role in the performance of the team. Changes in a team are dependent on leadership style and theory used in leadership.
A successful team can be described as a team where the theory and style applied are not conflicting (Quinn, 1991). While aiming at eliciting members to follow from you, situation theory is applicable since it gives the leader an opportunity to alter the styles used in the team depending on the situations faced by the team. Similarly, while aiming at eliciting willingness from others to follow the leader, relationship and managerial theories are applicable. This also applies to styles used by leaders (Obolensky, 2010).
References
Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty. Farnham, England: Gower.
Quinn, R. E. (1991). Beyond rational management: Mastering the paradoxes and competing demands of high performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Visser, M., & Palgrave Connect (Online service). (2011). The female leadership paradox: Power, performance and promotion. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Crowell, D. M. (2011). Complexity leadership: Nursing's role in health care delivery. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
Barker, A. M. (1992). Transformational nursing leadership: A vision for the future. New York: National League for Nursing Press.
Farson, R. E. (1997). Management of the absurd: Paradoxes in leadership. New York: Touchstone.
Leaders should be confident about their age; they should not try to look older or even look younger. They should accept that they are aging, and they should do it gracefully. It is not all about dressing; it is also about confidence. One should be confident of the age that he or she possesses. For example, the story of Mary Ann, a woman who stepped back from her career due to medical challenges. When she returned to the workplace, she looked beaten down just at the age of fifty-six. The fact that she did not have confidence in herself made her look like a woman that was in her mid seventies. All she needed was confidence, and for her to dress her age, she did not need to look like she was in her thirties, she needed to look her age; fifty-six.
After regaining her confidence, she looked like she was exactly fifty-six. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that a leader should be able to look her age and act confidently in her age. One should not aspire to look older or even look younger, there are certain people that try too hard, and it is evident by all that they are trying too hard to look younger. Mike Jeffries is an example of a leader that tries too hard to look younger. He has refused to age gracefully and often undergoes several plastic surgeries in order to buffer up his image and try to look younger. Therefore, it is extremely essential for any leader, young or old to behave and act his age as this will not only be good for his or her appearance but also for his confidence.
Leaders should be confident in regards to their gender. Most corporate women often feel the need and pressure to dress as their male counterparts in order to be respected. Telecommunications firm 02 did a research that suggested that the lack of female role models at top of business was to blame for the women not dressing according to their gender. Many women still feel the need and pressure to conform to the outdated system of male dominated society at the workplace. Women feel that if they dress more masculine, they will be taken more seriously at the workplace. People at the workplace should be encouraged to dress appropriately according to their genders.
Dressing according to one's gender not only makes a diverse workforce, but also, it makes a lot of business sense. Women should be able to appreciate their feminine features and dress accordingly. Men should also dress in the right manner and should try hard not to exaggerate their masculinity.
It is imperative to understand that it does not mean that women in the corporate world should not wear pantsuits as they originated from a masculine background. There are women such as Hilary Clinton, who have tried not to push hard their wardrobe and wear clothes that over-exaggerate their feminism. Women should be able to choose pieces that despite originating from a masculine wardrobe make them feminine, professionally and they should be age appropriate.
The rules do not change, and one should be able to live according to his gender, sexual orientation or even disability. Despite the specifics such as weight, age, gender and sexuality one should be able to confident about him or herself if they want to be leaders. This is because people do not listen to somebody who is unsure of themselves. One should never let his or her sexual orientation be a topic. For example, Jasper is gay, and he celebrates his gayness by conforming to the various stereotypes associated with being gay. He dressed flamboyantly more often in yellow shirts, green pants and orange loafers.
He went ahead and even mentioned his sexual orientation in his LinkedIn profile. However, one has to ask a question, what being gay has to do with one's profession. Most people do not care about one's sexual orientation, and one cannot be promoted because of his or her sexual orientation but rather one is promoted because of the skills and the experience that one possesses. In fact, in modern advanced countries sexual orientation is slowly becoming less of an issue and many leaders that are gay are being accepted in the society. Leaders should be able to understand that they are often role models in the society. They should act in a way that shows that they know what they are doing, and this comes from confidence.
It is of the essence to understand that the rules do not change when it comes to gays. They have to dress appropriately and maintain confidence in their age and sexuality. They should not be ashamed for whom they are, but rather they should be confident in themselves and not make their sexual orientation an issue. Leaders should try hard to overcome the stereotypes that pull them down and assume positions of leadership. If one wants something badly enough, one should do everything that it takes in order to get there.
References
Giusto, S. d. (2013). The Image of Leadership. New York : Sage.
Leadership is an important component of a school's failure and successes. Schools are being held accountable in the highest level of standards, and strong leadership is extremely critical for the school's success. School leadership has always been fascinating to me; it involves achieving common educational aims. There is a need to have a strong school that achieve high levels of pupil achievement and are well run. Accountability in schools should be increased, and this can only be done through effective school leaders that understand dynamism as well as pro-activity (Green, 2011). The best schools should have an effective school or even a group of leaders; these leaders must be multifaceted when they are dealing with other administrators, students, and parents on a daily basis. Giving back is an important thing, and I do believe that being an educational leader is important in achieving this fete. There is a need to give out knowledge to young persons and an educational leader does just that and does it effectively.
One of the many strengths that I possess is educational leadership that I have a passion for it. In order for one to build an extraordinary management team, there is a need for one to have passion about what one is doing. Passion is of crucial importance when being a leader and without it one cannot be able to do exactly what is best for the students. I possess strong organizational skills, and this includes efficient communication. I have proper communication skills which make sure that I can be able to get information relayed from various departments in the company.
If there is any misunderstanding in the company, I can be able to translate and transfer the information to every member that needs the information. I have always been able to make tough decisions; I do not compromise on quality and always ensure that I get the best out of every situation that I have. I understand that as a leader there are times which are difficult and require quick as well as timely decisions (Green, 2011). This is imperative as there are times when decisions require firmness, authority as well as finality that sometimes might not please anyone. However, I understand that as a leader these are moments that I cannot hesitate but instead ensure that I make the correct decisions. There are moments where I need not act unilaterally, but instead be able to foster good collaborative decision making. This is an important strength in education as I will be able to understand and judge different situations and know when to act.
I possess a very strong sense of empathy, and I understand that extraordinary leaders praise in public and address all their concerns in private. I can be able to lead others through different challenges, and I can always be on the lookout for better solutions in order to foster long- term success of the organization. I never make things personal but instead when i encounter problems look for constructive solutions in order to focus on moving forward instead of assigning blame to others. I always show genuine concern to people even when am in difficult situations. This is crucial as it helps to make sure that I will help grow different leaders by encouraging them.
One of my strongest strengths is the fact that I can accountable. I understand that as a leader I should be able to take responsibility for everyone's performance that is including my performance (Green, 2011). I have come to realize that as a leader I must follow up on all outstanding issues, monitor the effectiveness of different policies and procedures, as well as check in on the employees. I am a responsible leader, and when thing is going right, I always make a point of praising the situation. However, when things are going wrong, I am capable of identifying the situation quickly and seeking solutions in a bid to get things back the way there are supposed to. Be.
I am a completely honest person and strongly have come to the realization that honesty is indeed the best policy. I believe that by being ethical, being honest, and reliable will form a strong basis of the foundation of success. I believe I want to be a leader that embodies these values so overtly that there will be no person that will ever doubt my integrity even for a minute. As an honest person, I, usually, share information openly and try as much as possible to avoid spin control.
In a bid to be an efficient and effective leader I will need to discover the different elements that exist around me and how I can be able to fulfill my maximum potential by this discovery process. This discovery involves the understanding of the weaknesses, strengths, goals and needs that I have as an educational leader. It is through the discovery process that I can be able to act and enhance my capacity in order to ensure that am a better, capable leader (Green, 2011). The second dimension is the development of key elements in the leadership agenda and cultivates them within the discovery dimension.
This, therefore, means that I need to develop on my strengths make sure that I completely understand them and that I am in a position to better them. In terms of effectiveness, I need to understand the weaknesses that I possess in order to develop on them in order to become a better leader. This is a crucial dimension as it holds the work in the development of an effective educational leader. It specifies and sharpens the weaknesses, goals and strengths to be worked on. It also involves the starting of enhancement objectives as well as concrete hard steps in a bid to be efficient and to establish a successful leadership development program.
The third dimension is delivery. This dimension is often dependent on an acute vision, plan as well as developed work that is promulgated from other previous dimensions. In this dimension, through relevant and clear discoveries that is combined with a developed system of individualized strengths the delivery of both the school's and individuals outcomes can be described as being inevitable (Green, 2011). In this dimension of delivery, there is a need to maintain a clear focus as well as a sense of direction in order to generate the defined and preferred outcomes. The delivery of the set objectives needs careful planning and this I can be able to achieve because of my strong organizational skills.
The last dimension can be described as the most important and the most critical. Discipline is as a result of all the other preceding dimensions and it often involves optimal learning as well as leadership development. It is through discipline that learning as well as development can be optimized. When a leader has discipline, there are often fewer challenges and the leader can be able to easily achieve his or her goals. Leaders that have discipline are often the most effective and they in many cases posses proactive tools for decreasing challenges, and they increase optimal learning and development. Therefore, according to this model, there is a need for a leader to discover his or her strengths and weakness, develop them, and then deliver the goals, and objectives needed. However, this can occur if the leader has discipline in him or her.
The school can be described as an organization, because it is an association of people that are bound together in a formal relationship in order to achieve a certain goal collectively. The school has a specific goal to educate students and ensure their success. A school is an organization because there is a need to have an official sanction. Before a school is opened, there are often some certain prescribed conditions that are needed in order for the required needs of the students to be obtained. Further, like any other formal organization, the school has an assigned hierarchy. At the apex of the school is the principal, below him, are several supervisors, teachers and lastly a large body of pupils. The framing of the school's hierarchy is often guided by several rules and codes. This, therefore, shows that indeed a school is an organization (Green, 2011). Therefore, in order to run a school effectively, it is imperative that one sees it as an organization. Firstly, I will have a clear vision and planning for the school. Without a vision, the school might remain stagnant. The vision often acts as directions and there is a need for a leader to design a clear map which guides all members of the organization to a destination. Therefore, a leader should create a well-organized as well as structured business plan and communicate this business to all members of the staff.
Once the leader has sufficiently established the vision for the school, there is a need to follow up the strategy with planning decision. For instance, in this case the goal might be to increase the performance of the students in mathematics. This can be done such as imposing classes after school and creating an incentive system to ensure that the plan is achieved. The leader when he or she views the school as an organization can be able to unify his approach on how best to achieve the goals and objectives set out. Further, when an educational leader views the school is an organization. He or she can be able to encourage self-reliance in the school. Teamwork is often extremely valuable; however, individual productivity is just as important. Each staff member of the school, whether a teacher or administrator should be able to contribute a special skill or even an ability that helps the school to reach its overall objectives. Self-reliance can further be rewarded through the rewarding of staff innovation as well as praising effort of the teachers and administrators who improve and contribute more towards the achievement of the school's objectives.
Effective communication is a skill that every educational leader must possess. Communication can be described as a basic tool that is used in motivation. In the school scenario, motivation is extremely important in order to improve and increase the morale of the teachers and other administrators in the school (Green, 2011). Faulty or even inappropriate communication can be a cause of major conflict and even low morale. Therefore, with effective communication the educational leader can be able to clarify lucidly what needs to be done, how well the teachers are doing and what can be done extra in order to better the existing performance. Further, with good communication skills, the educational leader can be able to maintain a good human relation in the school by encouraging suggestions and ideas from other administrators in the school. This creates good blood and also increases the production at an extremely low cost.
The school is a dynamic institution which keeps on evolving; there are bound to be conflicts and need for change in order to progress in the future. I believe that the best management style to tackle this type of obstacles will be transactional and servant leadership. Servant leadership begins with a natural feeling within the leader that he or she wants to serve first. In this case, I will be dedicated to serving the institution that is the school, I will ensure that each and every of my decision and choices is in the best interest of the school. Further, I will also focus primarily on the growth as well as the well-being of employees in the school. In order to solve conflicts, I will ensure that I take an impartial stand with the best interest of the school at heart. As a servant leader, I must share power amongst the other existing administrators. I need to put the needs of other first in order to help them develop as well as perform as highly as their potential can allow them.
I will also be a transactional leader in that I will try hard to create well defined clear structures where it would be clear to all the employees what is required of them as well as the prizes that they will get for following the different orders. Although punishments will not be mentioned, I will make employees in the school understand them and that there are formal systems of discipline that are set in place to ensure that rules and codes are followed to the letter.
After understanding that the school is an organization, I will go ahead and ensure that I put up effective strategies in order to increase the performance of the students and employees in the school. I will achieve this by establishing an effective system of incentives for both the students and the employees. My strong organizational skills will come in handy as I will be able to communicate to the employees and students of what I expect of them and where they are going wrong. Further, by discovering my strengths and weaknesses, I will be able to understand how I can effectively maximize my strengths and also try to increase my weaknesses so that they cannot affect my performance. By using servant leadership, I will be able to serve all the employees in the school, the students and the school itself. Further, by the use of transactional leadership I will establish a reward and punishment system which will help increase the general performance of the school.
References
Green, R. (2011). Practicing the art of leadership. New York: The Allyn & Bacon Educational Leadership Series.
Few domains in the society and business have been untouched by the technology revolution. Many organizations have responded to this new reality and they have realized the power as well as the potential of this technology towards better and effective leadership (McLeod, & Lehmann, 2012). The E-mail for example has enhanced better communication amongst the employees and the leaders in the organization. Relevant information can often be dispatched through e-mails and consequently it is extremely easy for the leader to ensure that indeed everything goes on according to plan and the strategy that was set for the company. Discussion boards in the organization that are initiated by the leader can be described as a great way in which the different persons that exist in the company can better express their views and therefore, increase the optimal productivity of the company.
Social media often encourages horizontal control and collaboration and several unscripted conversations which travel in several random paths across the different hierarchies. Social media is often known to short-circuit the established power dynamics in an organization and sever the traditional lines of communication (Li, 2010). A leader can use the social media in order to create strategic creativity, and be able to create authentic communication in a bid to deal with the corporation’s political and social dynamics that is intended to design a responsive and agile organization.
Using the internet, the leaders can be able to cultivate a new and technologically linked social infrastructure by design and it promotes constant interaction across geographical and physical boundaries (Bidgoli, 2010). The use of social media is also important as it helps in creating an organization that is robust and where people can exchange ideas freely without any restrictions. This eventually leads to increased productivity in the organization.
Reference
Li, C. (2010). Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
McLeod, S., & Lehmann, C. (2012). What school leaders need to know about digital technologies and social media. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Bidgoli, H. (2010). Supply chain management, marketing and advertising, and global management. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Introduction
Effective leadership is a requisite in all educational organizations since it determines the ability to attain goals. Good leaders are also responsible for the development of the goals and creation of action plans to help in the implementation of the objectives. School management calls for experienced leaders who will be responsible for the sense of direction in the organization. The purpose of the research paper is to evaluate the main qualities that make up a good educational leader and how the leader can use the organization as the basis of implementing change. Leadership in the education sector could be accumulated over the time from the experience that a person has in the leadership position. On the other hand, leadership skills could be learnt by taking some graduate courses (Green, 2010).
Brief Summary of Your Interest in Educational Leadership and What Brought You to This MA Program
Being able to lead is called for in all the institutions. As a professional in the educational sector, my development of knowledge about general leadership is crucial. However, there are some aspects of leadership in the educational sector that has to be addressed through the learning of educational leadership. The knowledge that I will gain from of this mode of leadership will be instrumental in the future leadership positions that one may attain during one’s career as an educator. The knowledge acquired from this module will be used in understanding the organization dynamics and using them in the most effective manner to influence the actions of the staff. Understanding of the contingency approach to leadership will also be important when making complex decisions.
The main reason behind the selection of the MA program was to equip myself with the leadership skills that are called for in good governance of the schools. I hope to use the acquired leadership skills in the development of a viable plan for the educational institutions that I will head in future. When I graduate from this MA program, I will aim to use the skills in collaboration with the rest of the educators to come up with a plan for the organization. I will also focus on improving the educational experience for the students by ensuring that they have the best access to education. I will ensure that the students are at the center of the educational organization since ensuring that they have the best education is the core business of the educational organization.
Summarize Your Strengths as a Leader
1.Understanding Of Self
An effective educational leader has the requisite understanding of self in terms of his or her capabilities and limitations. The leader also knows what he stands for. The knowledge of the strengths that a person has a leader helps them come up with methods that build on their strengths and continually build on the weaknesses to be better leaders. A good educational leader shares his strengths with the followers and seeks the opinion of the followers on his or her weaknesses (Green, 2010). The educational leader can acknowledge help in the areas where he or she is not as strong.
Good educational leaders seek out responsibility and assume it effectively. The leaders acknowledge that they have to do something about the educational output and do not look up to other people to take the responsibility. They do not give out blame when a plan goes wrong but they accept their failures and come up with the corrective measures. Good educational leaders set the example for the rest of the people. They indicate high levels of work dedication to the epitomes of success. In a bid to be one of the good educational leaders, I am interested in the creation of the right environment for all the staff to assume responsibility in their different sectors. I am also interested in paving the way for the rest of the staff through good examples of leadership.
2.Understanding Of The Human Nature
Exemplary educational leaders have a high understanding of human nature. The school administrators ought to be the teachers of the teachers. This is a daunting task given that the majority of the teachers are well trained and have a high understanding of the teaching environment and approaches. The only way that the administrators can be teachers of teachers is through the understanding of human nature. The understanding of the emotions, motivations and strength of the individual teachers means that the administrators can come up with better ways of improving on the output of the teachers. The same effort expended by the teacher in the understanding of the students should be put into understanding the teachers and meeting their needs in the most effective manner. It is misguided for the administrators to avoid the emotions and needs of the teachers since they have a large impact in understanding the teachers in the most effective manner. For instance, a simple acknowledgement of the efforts of the teachers in making the students understand various topics is enough to keep most teachers satisfied.
3.Effective Communication
Communication is an important aspect of any leader. It can be inherent or learnt. This means that some of the administrators will have the inborn trait of oration while others will have to learn it (Green, 2010). Regardless of how an administrator learns to communicate, the ability to do it effectively has the power to determine his or her success or failure. Communication works in two ways. The communicator has to express the information in the right manner to facilitate the communication process. Effective communication can be gauged by the ability of the leader to pass the same information to all followers leaving little room for conjecture and gossip. Messages ought not to be consulted where a leader sends different messages to the people. Consulted messages lead to distrust and discontent with the leadership skills applied by the leader. The leader ought to understand the most common barriers of communication that are in the way of effective communication and come up with the most effective manner of dealing with or eliminating them. When the message being conveyed is deemed self-serving, the chances of the followers receiving the message and acting upon it are less likely to be productive.
4.Clarity Of Focus And Judgment
Clarity and focus of the judgments made by the leaders is also one of the aspects that can be used to distinguish the effective educational leaders from the less effective ones. Clarity of judgment manifests in the decisions made by the leader whereby the leader has to know when it is best suited for them to take a certain course of action and when to refrain. Judgments call for evaluation of the situation and acting upon it in manner that will not affect the normal functioning of the followers (Green, 2010). The leaders in education have to possess the clarity so that they have a focused vision of the success of the organization and communicate the vision to the people in the best way possible to the teachers who will be charged with the implementation of the vision. Failure to communicate in the most effective manner may lead to leadership crisis.
5.Believing In The Followers
Educational leaders have to believe in their followers. The leaders that communicate the vision to the followers will have the followers personify the vision and own it. The teachers will be confident when taking the risks with the knowledge that they have the support from the leader in their implementation of the vision.
The teachers will be motivated to take part in the action plan in order to attain the vision. Moreover, indication of faith in the teachers will motivate them to share the information that they have on the action plan in the most effective manner. When the teaching staff engages in information sharing, there is a high likelihood that it will attain the goal set by the management. Therefore, the understanding of self and effective application of this understanding will enable a leader to be developed. Leaders are made. The focus placed by a leader on the aforementioned areas is a requisite for the development of an effective tam of followers (Green, 2010).
Communication is the most important aspect of a leader. Inability to communicate can render a good action plan valueless. The effectiveness of a leader is also determined by the followers and not the self-assessments made by leaders. Personification of the above traits by the leaders is called for in order for the leaders to be effective.
Summarize Skill, Behaviors, Attitudes That Will Be Developed
The effective leadership in the education sector calls for the development of the emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence calls for the understanding of self as far as the emotions are concerned. Effective leaders have the knack of separating the leadership roles from the self-motivated emotions (Green, 2010). I will have to come up with the most effected ways of dealing with their emotions such that they have the right approach to their administrative roles. Emotional intelligence also calls for the development of an understanding of the extent at which the emotions of the followers affect their decision-making and come up with the right ways of leveraging on the emotions for the attainment of the goals outlined in the action plan. My ability as the leader to understand the emotions can serve as a tool for effective management of the people.
Summarize the Management Style That You Will Use as a Leader
Contingent Leadership
All situations are unique as far as leadership is concerned. This means that there is no blanket application of leadership skills. As a leader, it is important to develop situational leadership whereby one makes the decisions that are applicable to the situation and avoid generalizations of the decisions (Green, 2010). For instance, when a teacher is involved in some dispute, the administrator ought to understand the issues that informed the series of actions that led to the dispute and work on the issues when resolving the issue. Situational leadership could also apply if the administrator is transferred to another school district. Using the old approach of leadership in the new school will be futile since the conditions are never the same. Situational leadership calls for the understanding of the environment and making the leadership decisions based on the situations.
Building a Collaborative Environment
As a leader, it is important for the development of the collaborative environment, which is composed of people that work as a team towards the attainment of the goal. The leader has to create an environment that fosters trust and cooperation. A collaborative environment is important since it allows the individuals to come up with their own variations for the attainment of the overall goal. This means that the members of the team will come up with the most effective ways of implementing the action plan (Green, 2010). Collaboration creates synergy whereby the members will be able to work with a wider skill base as opposed to the lone innovator approach to the implementation process. The effective leader has to ensure that the team dynamics are working in the right manner towards the creation of a cohesive team. For example, the usual social interactions processes have to be considered in the development of the effective team. Providing the members of the staff with the environment and chances when they can interact informally will foster the group’s power. Co-curriculum activities such as games will foster the interactions between the teachers.
Capacity Building
As an educational leader, it is important to create capacity for the team members. Capacity creation is consistent with the epitome of continuous improvement whereby the team members are empowered to do better every time (Green, 2010). An educational leader ought to seek out programs that are developed by the regulators and independent authorities in education and implore the team members to join them. Capacity building helps in increasing the options that the team can use in the attainment of the overall goals of the organization. I will ensure that the teachers attend at least two seminars in a school term.
Four Dimensions of Leadership
Dimension one calls for the understanding of the leader’s self-beliefs and values. A leader cannot be effective unless he or she has the understanding of his limitations and capabilities (Green, 2010). The beliefs of a leader are important since they dictate the way that he or she is going to react to a certain situation. This understanding facilitates the emergence of a shared vision with the other members. The second dimension focuses on the understanding of the organizational complexity. In order for the principal to manage the school in the most effective manner, he or she has to understand the issues that are in play in the school. The complexity of the school as an organization can facilitate or hinder the attainment of the organizational goals. For instance, the ability of the principle to acquire and retain the most qualified members of the faculty lies within the second dimension of effective leadership. The social interactions in the school will also affect the attainment of the goals in a positive manner or otherwise. The leader has to understand the impact of the informal groups and the grapevine on the attainment of the overall goals of the organization.
The third dimension focuses on the ability of the leader to understand, create and maintain relationships with all the parties involved. This understanding spills over into the teaching staff and other stakeholders in the school. The ability of the leader to understand the relationships and their trigger elements determines the ability of the organization to attain the required goals. The final dimension focuses on the improvement of the organization. The principal as an administrator has to identify the best way of improving the organization. The decision-making and communication are encompassed in this dimension. This will effectively lead to the creation of a model for the improvement of all the students.
Transactional leadership would be the most effective approach of leadership to be applied in the organizational setting. The focus of this approach of leadership is on the role of supervision and structural organization (Green, 2010). The organization of the school into groups would facilitate the evaluation of group performance. This approach of leadership seeks to reward and punish the followers. The approach can be used in times of stability only since it does not focus on changing the future. Transactional leadership would be used in the time of crisis in the school. Emergencies also call for the approach since it has to be an agreed way of working in order for the organization to survive the emergency. In the times of change, transformational leadership could be the most appropriate.
Describe How These Skills, Behaviors and Attitudes Will Enable You to Be an Educational Leader
Being able to work with the staff will be instrumental in the attainment of the overall goal of the institution, which is improving the performance, and lives of the students. As long as there is cooperation in the team and the members are willing to pool their efforts towards the attainment of the overall goals of the institution, there is a higher chance of success. Empathetic leadership is called for in the attainment of the proper management of the institution. Understanding the reasons that inform the course of action assumed by the teachers and the students will be crucial in the rectification of some of the behaviors. Communication skills will be the most important since the skills determine the effectiveness of the plans laid out by the school administration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, use of the aforementioned approaches in the school leadership would prove to be important for the attainment of the overall goals of the school (Green, 2010). These approaches will be important for all the stakeholders in the outcome of the school since they will affect the ability of the organization to attain its goals. A systems approach to management of the schools is important since the organization does not operate in a vacuum. Considering the impacts of the external and internal forces on the attainment of the organizational goals is crucial for the modification of the action plan to accommodate the external forces. Therefore, the effective management of the schools calls for the understanding of the organization and the factors that influence the attainment of the organizational goals. The above traits will be effective in the administration of the schools and attainment of the better education standards for the students. Respect of the employees is also called for since they have a direct input in the outcome of the organization. It is also important for the management to improve on the capacity of the teaching staff by enrolling them in the capacity improvement programs provided by the government and private institutions. All efforts to improve the capacity of the teaching staff will lead to better delivery of lessons to the students. Therefore, educational leadership is called for in all the schools since the effective management of the educational institutions trickles down to the students. As a result, the attainment of the overall goals of the schools is possible. More importantly, the development of well-rounded students is only attainable in the event that proper leadership is displayed.
Reference
Green, R. (2010). The four dimensions of principal leadership (1st Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Introduction
Masters of Arts in educational leadership is a study field that interested me deciding on the master program to pursue (Green, 2010). The program is essential in academic institutions since it views leadership as a relational process. In other words, it has an all-inclusive attitude towards people and their diverse points of views sharing a common goal and vision among individuals in the institution. The strong interest and desire of pursuing the art program resulted from the interest of understanding the cultural aspects of people that leads to their diversified points of view. Additional interests in educational leadership arose from the increased urge of expounding knowledge on leadership. Furthermore, based on the dynamic nature of the modern society, pursuing the master program aimed at understanding different management styles and required skills for these styles (Green, 2010). The discussion paper has the objective of expounding and reflecting on the different aspects of educational leadership learnt in the MA in educational leadership program.
1. Strengths as an educational leader
Educational leaders play significant roles in the modern society. Their effectiveness depends on their strengths. Primarily, it is vital having a comprehensive understanding of who is an educational leader and their role in the society. Educational leaders refer to individuals in the school and other formal institutions with the role of creating positive educational policies in these institutions (Green, 2010). On the other hand, educational leadership refers to the governing bodies striving at creating positive policies that promote cohesiveness in these institutions. Success of these leaders depends on their ability of improving educational systems. Leadership strengths have an attribution to individual traits that facilitate leadership. An assumption on leadership strength and traits links with the trait theory that assumes that leaders are born with headship traits that promote their success. The following are my strengths as an educational leader (Green, 2010).
a. Vision
As an element of leadership, it facilitates the realization of institution goals. Personal vision has a relationship with the institution missions and visions. It is the driving force towards organizational needs (Green, 2010). A visionary leader easily inspires his subordinates towards creation of positive policies in schools. Visions enhance proper planning of the future. Conversely, there is equal sharing of tasks and responsibilities. Unlike other traits, goal-oriented strength of the leader increases his need of developing deep knowledge on subordinate’s abilities. Similarly, the leader easily positions himself and herself during the building of the capacity of institutional improvement. Vision strength of an educational leader enhances their ability to interact positively with their subordinates and thus promoting cooperation in the institution (Green, 2010).
Inspiration in educational institutions is essential. It increases the motivation of subordinates while carrying out their tasks. Particularly, when subordinates understand the organization vision (depicted by the leader’s visionary aspect), they gain confidence of communicating with their leaders promoting their involvement during the development process. More so, visionary aspect of educational headship encourages other staff members to maintain faith and trust in their leaders.
b. Trustworthiness
Effective school leaders demonstrate high levels of trust from other staff and students. Often leader’s strengths begin with their honesty levels. Trustworthiness in educational institutions has four scopes. They influence the leader’s effectiveness and acceptance to the subordinate staffs (Green, 2010). As a strength, a trustworthy leader has the capability of readily accepting mistakes and faults in their decision. Everyone is prone of making mistakes. However, when mistakes occur, it is the obligation of the individual to confess the shortcomings. Accepting mistakes demonstrates obedience. Additionally it indicates the leader’s acceptance of acts.
Decision-making is another aspect of leadership in schools. Decisions-making process influences the flow of information and participation of subordinates in the leadership process. A trustworthy educational leader demonstrates an ability of sharing decisions made with others easily. Apparently, decision-making sharing promotes transparency thus trustworthiness. Trustworthy leaders use the strength where they influence their subordinates towards attainment of the organizational goals (Green, 2010).
c. Respect
Highly related to trustworthiness is respect. Respect as a value influences the cooperation in a leadership setting. Respects originate from a leader’s ability to maintain effective communication and relationships in schools. Similarly, respect results from engagement of staff members in the decision-making process. Furthermore, leader’s respect for the diverse cultures and points of views among the subordinates influences the respect gained. High levels of respect are key indicators of effective management. Strength based on respect requires mutual respect and cohesiveness between subordinates and their leaders. My strength of respecting other staff members is a strength, as it will facilitate unison while developing policies and implementing them (Green, 2010).
d. Fairness
As opposed to a weakness of discrimination, fairness in an educational institution promotes leader’s ability of cooperation with other staff members. Seemingly, the cooperation increases the leader’s strength. As an educational leader, my ability of equally sharing tasks and responsibilities among other staff members is my strength. It is essential, as it will facilitate cooperation thus shared vision of developing positive policies that will gear attainment of institution goals (Green, 2010).
2. Skills, behaviors and attitudes developed to be an effective educational leader
Effective leadership in an educational institution attributes to four dimensions as described by Reginald Leon Green. These dimensions relate to skills and leadership attitudes required for effective leadership (Green, 2010).
a. Understanding oneself and others
Normally, institutions comprise of members from different cultures. As a result, there are diverse points of views. It is mostly challenging on leaders when there is no cooperation between these members (Green, 2010). However, in an effective management system, leaders develop a strong foundation by comprehending their members and their beliefs. Understanding oneself begins with honesty. Successful leaders analyze their weaknesses and work on improving them. Leader’s lack of acknowledging his or her shortcomings may lead to a perception of lack of integrity from other members. Thus, it is crucial having self-awareness in order to increase your credibility on other staff members (Green, 2010).
On the other hand, a skill of understanding others is essential while focusing on improving leadership strength. Factors such as personality, background and beliefs are essential while scrutinizing a member. Ability of a leader to determine these factors improves their credibility to headship, as it becomes eases their prediction of additional moves by these members. Ability to understand individual’s behavior based on the observed cues grants the leader with an upper hand over other members thus ease of implementation of policies.
b. Understanding the Complexity of Organizational Life
In addition to member traits, organizational environment as well influence a leader’s success. Analysis of the organizational environment can be through four approaches:
Structural frame, an analysis frame that focuses on organizational architecture. Architecture includes organizational goals, roles structure and technology. More so, the frame analyses the coordination of these architectural aspects (Green, 2010). Seemingly, human resource frame focuses on understanding the workforce and their interrelations. It is an essential frame aspect as it defines development opportunities, individual skills and prejudices. Political frame, on the other hand, is the analyses of the organizational environment as a contest defined by power sharing and competition. Lastly, symbolic frame is the last capture that evaluates the organizational meaning to the society. In educational leadership, it refers to the role of schools to the society and their relationships (Green, 2010). Leader’s ability of understanding the complex organizational environment characterizes an effective educational leadership.
c. Building bridges through relationships
Institutional ties (relationships) have posed direct influences on leadership. Negative relationships negatively influence participation of members towards attainment of organizational goals (Green, 2010). Nevertheless, positive relationships accelerate goal attainment in educational institutions. Effective leadership requires a leader with the skill of uniting members from different backgrounds irrespective of their beliefs. Bridging of gaps between subordinates and leaders entails manipulative approaches focused on ensuring cohesiveness in the institution. The most common methods of improving the cohesiveness include mentorship and training programs. These programs increase the staff’s competence while carrying out their tasks thus improving their satisfaction (Green, 2010).
More so, enhanced both downward and upward communication aids in maintaining already existing relationships between staff members. Communication facilitates the sharing of ideas thus accelerating the attainment of organizational goals. Concurrently, measures such as fairness during school promotions aids in bridging these gaps. Effective leadership requires leaders to present skills of developing bridges with their staff members. As an educational leader promoted communication and engagement of staff during the decision-making process are my immediate skills that bridge relationship gaps.
d. Engaging leadership best practices
Practices such as common lunch and forums with staff members are crucial for leaders. These practices aim at promoting coordination with other members (Green, 2010). Similarly, the dimension entails the choice of management style used. Leadership methods differ based on their implementation. Collaborative and transformational practices are relevant as they promote participation of staff members during the management process. An effective leader should have the skill of determining the best practice for the education institution headed.
3. Management style developed for effective management of staff
As an educational leader, I intend using collaborative management style. Collaborative approach promotes sharing of visions and driving the reality towards attainment of these organizational goals (Green, 2010). With the ultimate skills of respect and honesty, establishing collaborative climate in schools will not be challenging due to the underlying mutual respect and staff empowerment. More so, while using the strategy of managing staff, the focus will be to promote commitment and delivering results (Green, 2010).
With the ability of understanding oneself weaknesses and strengths, collaboration with another staff will aid in reducing the impacts of the leader’s weaknesses. In an educational environment, where policies project at improving the quality of learning services to students and projects at improving the students’ results, collaborative management will aid, as the leader will cultivate the stakeholders towards the shared vision of results. Collaborative environment, on the other hand, creates an atmosphere of member satisfaction as they engage actively in the management process. Through engagement of stakeholders, development, communication and implementation of the school’s missions and visions eases (Green, 2010).
Collaborative management has a relation to integration. As an implication, it means that diverse points of view and cultures incorporates in the same environment. Shared visions while in the schools scrubs off cultural differences promoting equality in resource and task allocation.
Similarly, while responding to conflicts in the institution, a collaborative approach will help in solving these problems (Green, 2010). Collaboration of both parties involved in the conflict in an attempt of realizing solutions will allow restoration of positive climate in the institution and thus enhanced cooperation between staff members. In the context, collaborative conflict management acknowledges the communication of solutions between the conflicting parties. While as an educational leader, collaborative management style is essential as it promotes sharing of common organizational goals and thus facilitating their accomplishment.
4. How skills, behaviors and attitudes will enable an educational leader and the improvement of learning for all students
The sole objective of educational leadership is development and implementation of policies that improve the quality of learning in schools. Effective headship in schools depends on the coordination of the leader (principal) and other staff members. Positive relations have direct positive impacts on the improvement of learning for students (Green, 2010). Particularly, a visionary attitude has a strong contribution towards improved learning. Setting additionally individual goals and sharing them among staff members promotes commitment of staff members as they strive to realize their goals. These strive contributes to greater results. Normally, visionary attitudes have a time deadline. Thus, leaders have opportunities of monitoring the performance of these policies as staff members implement them (Green, 2010).
Skills, on the other hand, are guiding policies that control the conduct of the educational leader. Educational leaders ought to maintain a code of conduct governed by the skills and attitudes. Therefore, these values crucial for leaders in ensuring they maintain the certified minimum levels of leadership requirements. Standards requiring respect to students and staff members, trustworthiness while reporting the performance to the stakeholders enhance accountability of the leader (Green, 2010).
Lastly, since learning environments depends on the management style used the institution principal, while using a collaborative style, students experience optimum learning environments due to the coordination. Similarly, since the leader may decide on implementing policies promoting task accomplishment, learning in these cases may improve. Furthermore, in situations where the leader is an individual fanatic (more considerate on individuals than school goals), there might be attainment of individual goals but school goals may remain unattended (Green, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, educational leadership has a significant influence on learning and coordination in the schools. Similar to other leadership settings, educational leadership has a reliance on individual traits such as respect, trustworthiness, and fairness. Similarly, skills are essential since they determine the effectiveness of headship. Cooperation of staff members requires leaders to have strong awareness and understanding of their complex organizational environment. Concurrently, choice of management style is essential while focusing on maximum effectiveness of educational leadership. Lastly, as postulated, educational leadership is a great influencer towards students learning.
Reference
Green, R. L. (2010). The four dimensions of principal leadership: A framework for leading 21st-century schools. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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