Leadership and how it is defined or recognised varies amongst many. The term can also be mistaken for management rather than someone who leads an organization, and in this case a school (Quality Leadership in Australian Schools, 2007). Leadership identifies two vital aspects: What style of leadership is executed and how leadership is implemented effectively. Teachers have already committed to becoming effective leaders just by choosing to be teachers themselves (Collay, 2008, p.28). So they naturally develop leadership capacity within their everyday teaching. They support and guide their students through their educational journey and this is flourished through change or transformation. But for teachers and Teacher Librarians to be true …show more content…
There are many different leadership theories. When considering which type of leadership is most apposite, there are contradicting opinions. Does a leader have to only portray one style of leadership? Or can a leader possess various qualities that could manage effective leadership? Transformational and sustainable leadership styles are found to be comparable and many would argue that these two are the most suitable for an educational leader. As an instructional leader, the Principal is a resource provider, a communicator and visibly present (Smith, W. F., & Andrews, R. L. 1989). These components are ideal for an educational setting and can also be represented in the leadership qualities that a Teacher Librarian could possess. As pointed out by Robert Greenleaf (1970, 1977), servant leadership emerges from a desire to help others, which is also a great quality for an effective leader. A great leader should work collaboratively, inspire, empower and share (Tapscott, 2012). When one considers developing educational setting and the current changes to the 21st century, there should be flexibility in the style of leadership, modifying the elements of leadership to accomplish various tasks (Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2005).
Transformation/Change Leadership
A starting point for leading change should be a moral purpose, accompanied by a shared vision (Dempster, 2008; Law & Glover, 2000; Winzenreid, 2010).
Educational leadership has many definitions. Bush (2003) defines it as ‘’the field of study and practice concerned with the operation of educational organizations’’. Whilst Bolam (1999) defines educational leadership as ‘’an executive function for carrying out agreed policy and he states that there is a difference between management and educational leadership’’. I completely agree with Bolam’s definition particularly when he referred to the difference between leadership and management.Recently, there has been a noticeable tendency to differentiate between leadership and management and a modern understanding shows that the staff of schools is required to be good
Leadership is defined in the textbook as someone who “get people to do things they have never done before, to do things that are not routine, and to take risks – and sometimes
Every person who enters the field of education has both the opportunity and an obligation to be a leader (Dufour, Marzano, 2011). Leadership defined by Owen (2002) is, “A journey of discovery. It is the expression of a person at his or her best whose aim is to transform something for the better and to develop this potential in others. It is not a solitary pursuit but one that harnesses the energy of those around you. Leadership is a process in which leaders and followers engage to achieve mutual goals. Prentice (2004) defines leadership as the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. A great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances.
Many educational facilities recognise the value of effective leadership in a scholastic environment, and subsequently adopt and endorse a range of theories as an effective means of providing additional support and influence for both staff and students, and further to work towards achieving common goals (Reeves, 2006). A comprehensive leadership program is a critical part of any educational structure, where the motivation, inspiration and influence of staff are the central focus (Reeves, 2006). It is developed with support from both the community and school administrators, with the ideals of implementing processes that will result in the educational benefits of students on many levels. Successful school leaders possess a range of personal,
Typical conceptions of leadership associate this word with authority and power. On the contrary, the role of effective leadership means quit the opposite. The virtue of leadership is not to hold power, but rather to empower others. A real leader selflessly devotes his or her efforts and time for the prosperity of the organization as a whole as well as the thriving of individuals. The epitome of this oxymoron can be found in how I strive to emulate the leadership of Christ, who had all the power and authority to rule, but instead humbled himself to eat with prostitutes and wash feet. Leadership shouldn’t be about being higher than others. It should be about encouraging and inspiring others to step up, staring first with the example of my own
There is no one way to describe, what is meant by leadership and there are many elucidation of its meaning (Mullins and Christy, 2013). The Charter Institute of Public Development 'CIPD ' (2016) defines leadership as the aptitude to impact people by personal qualities and comportements, different leadership traits may be required in different situations. Other definitions of leadership are:
For the Final Project I am going to write a traditional scholarly essay that examines how stories relate to creative leadership within many diverse fields, the way stories can be used when dealing with challenging leadership situations, how the creation of stories are a big part of a leaders mission to guide others, the importance of leadership, and the ways that leadership incorporates stories to open up new opportunities. According to Ladan Nikravan, he states that “If we do not employ creativity as a core cultural imperative in business, we will be stuck in yesterday’s success and actively resist change.” This will be the underlying concept of this essay that will help to prove why leadership needs to be approached carefully in order to be open to new ideas and have a more creative mindset. I can go about developing this information into an essay by using examples and many different concepts from the stories within each
I define leadership as setting a determined example through personal actions and ethics that influences others to greater levels of performance. I set a high standard for myself. I expect the same of others. I strongly believe in setting the example for those around me as a result of poor leaders I have had the misfortune to serve under in the past. I have worked for Chiefs who had no idea what I, or those that worked with and for me, did on a daily basis. I have worked for Chief’s whose relationships with the chain of command were so toxic they forced me to work around them in order to accomplish any tasks. I have worked for Master Chiefs who stepped into a job where they had no clue what our division’s purpose was; rather than learn it,
Leadership is an inventive process that aligns professionals with a goal, objective and or vision statement. It displays your belief in the work that you are outing in for others. Leadership must always emerge and support a visionary statement for what you as a person believe in. Leadership is believed to be the art of leading others to deliberately create a result. In leadership, leaders exemplify themselves as a guiding tool for others in this case for teachers. Leaders must show commitment and work ethic in this all that they do. They must by put their heart and desires into their work, and present the love of Christ to my fellow subordinates and co-workers in all that they do. Effective leaders must remain committed to their values in regards
From the beginning of human history, the need for an individual that could carry more than his share of the weight, while possessing a quality that made others try to imitate them, has been essential for progress and endurance. The definition of leadership is a person who could lead and inspire others. At these times, the tendencies of human naturedemonstrates compassion, community oriented and egotistical individuals. Understanding the concept of cooperation, individuals also discovered the need for an exceptional type of person to lead and guide them, using their expertise to the advantage and benefit of the group.. Strengths, skills and abilities are the deciding factor for an exceptional leader. The introduction of industrialization and technological advancement ushered in a new workplace environment and the need for leaders in the workplace, and our local communities. With changing times, so did the meaning of leader change. From being a strong general with the goal and ambition of decapitating the enemy, to being responsible for organizing and managing employees to function and execute tasks in the best interest of the organization. Because of the uniqueness of individual personalities and character traits, leadership can be very difficult to generalize. Instead, a leader is one who is endowed with a charismatic personality, talented and can influence others to follow them.
Beginning in boot camp and continuing throughout my career, I’ve seen the Coast Guard promote the leadership model to be: “You” influencing “Others” to achieve a “Goal”. With all the different ways leadership can be defined, this simplistic model which has been permanently engrained in my thinking definition still rings true for me. As such, when defining my own personal definition of leadership, I align it to this same model. More specifically, while I support the fact that leadership involves influencing others to achieve a common end I propose that is not the whole story. Leaders must not be stagnant in their vision and must lend themselves to the possibility they may have to adjust their leadership styles depending on the goal. The best leaders are the ones that understand their own personality traits as well as those traits of the people they are trying to lead.
Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do”, because to me, a successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the one of the main contributing factors on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire..
Leadership has been studied extensively and many varying definitions exist. Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2015, p.4) review many of these definitions and consequently describe leadership as ‘the process of influencing an organised group towards its goals’. Leadership involves the interplay of a range of different factors, not least the leader themselves, the followers and the situation. For
Leadership Influences and Definition of Leadership – Without our people, we would have empty offices, useless aircraft, and vessels tied to piers. Without leadership, we would have people without purpose – people with no direction or mission to perform. Up until I was at my third unit, had nearly ten years in the Coast Guard, and had been a First Class Boatswain’s Mate for almost six years, I cannot recall being subject to any positive leadership experiences. The units and operational community that I served in for my first two tours were comprised of members with a very self-centered mentality. It always seemed as though the senior members were trying to bring others down in hopes of making themselves look better, and junior members were forced to fight for table scraps like wild dogs. I was raised in this environment, from E2 to E6, where policy was not referenced, and things were done a certain way “Because that’s how they have been done in the past”. We usually did things for one of two reasons: because we had no choice or for personal benefit. Those at the unit with positional power did not look out for their people; they were too worried about their own agendas. We followed them because we had to, not because we wanted to. Leadership is the art of gathering followers, giving them a purpose, and developing them into someone that others will in turn want to follow. I did not begin to witness this phenomenon until it was nearly too late. My first taste was during my tour
Leadership is a difficult word to define and according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary leadership is the “office or position of a leader” (Miriam-Webster, 2010). This definition is definitely not one that I would ascribe to when discussing leadership. My definition of leadership is “the ability someone has to motivate and empower others to achieve a goal.” Some may add to this definition, others may discard it altogether and have a completely different definition. In the end, leadership takes on many different forms depending on who is doing the defining and we end up asking ourselves, what is leadership and why do we care?