TABLE OF CONTENTS
| INDEX | CONTENTS | PAGES |
| 1 | INTRODUCTION | 3 |
| 2 | STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP | 3 |
| 3 | BEST SUITED FOR THE SCHOOL | 5 |
| 4 | ACTIONS TO TAKE | 8 |
| 5 | CONCLUSION | 10 |
| 6 | REFERENCES | 10 |
INTRODUCTION
Forbes defines leadership as a process of increasing other people’s efforts towards actualizing a goal through the means of social influence, it is the ability to convert vision into reality, this paper is aimed at discussing various leadership styles and which is more suitable to actualizing the goals of a senior principal with 57 employees in the team.
Effective leadership is important in every organization, as the company leaders personalities are a reflection of the organization, adequate leadership development increases the firm’s productivity and confidence amongst employees, encourages a positive cultural and professional working environment in which staffs work in harmony to achieve the same goal, it acts as a catalyst to improve and makes every department of the organization work in collaboration, and in the absence of an efficient leadership system, the resources of the organization would be dormant as it is not properly managed by a good leader.
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
It is critical to draw up a plan to strategically follow to achieve desired positive results, as a company who fails to be guided and strategically employ adaptive and innovative ways of thinking during the process of staff training and development would minimize the overall organizational capacity to face the future, this leads to the various leadership styles that influence the outputs of employees, which a few are:
- TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
This is a leadership style that gives encouragement, motivates and inspires workers to work towards positive change and groom innovative ideas that would push future growth for the firm, this system incorporates cooperate culture, individual independence and ownership in the organization. Leaders who make use of this approach, motivate and train their employees, gives them the authority to make decisions in their various designated jobs without micromanaging, it improves creativity, allowing staffs to express themselves in different ways, look for new means and tools to solve existing problems more efficiently, mentorship is widely encouraged in this style of leadership, big businesses make use of this approach, especially in technological firms, although it can work across other business spectrums as this system is effective and pushes employees to think critically to bring the big visions of their CEOs to reality.
- TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
This is a behavioural approach system of leadership whereby incentives are used for motivations, good behaviour or success is rewarded and the opposite is punished, it is focused on work and results that are consistent, this system believes that financial incentives are enough to motivate employees and not the charisma of the business, this style of leadership is best suited for sales and sports, and not where creativity and innovation is of high value as employees under this leadership are more prone to be found in a structured environment where supervision and management are focused on.
- LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP
It is the opposite of autocratic leadership, Laissez-Faire is a French word which translates to “do as you will”, this leadership style works well in creative environments such as advertising agencies, high-end architectural firms, product design firms, specialized engineering firms, venture capital firms, start-ups, , development and research, and social media companies etc
Employees are given the autonomy to make decisions as long as the task is done, the leader employs experts in the various fields to build a strong team and leaves them alone with the trust that they can make the right decisions and procedures to follow for themselves. This self-rule method empowers the staffs with decision-making abilities, increasing the worth of the employees, although critics find this style of leadership risky as most individuals are not self-motivated or driven to make strategic decisions that are far-reaching.
- AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
This style of leadership is a bit aggressive and gains influence through the use of control and power, the autocrat leaders expect prompt execution of orders, it does not allow creativity, only maximum output, this style of leadership is suitable for job roles that are repetitive, like the military, and manufacturing, in this system of leadership, job satisfaction is low, but it yields high turnover. The vision and the mission of the leader are relayed to the staffs, eliminating confusion as to the line of direction of the firm, decision making is easy and quick as it does not requires the input of ideas from others to slow down the process, expectations of the workers are clear. Although, it is widely criticized as facilitating teamwork, mentoring, and creating new ideas has taken over today’s organizations.
- HANDS-ON, PARTICIPANT LEADERSHIP STYLE
This style of leadership makes decision collaboratively, opinions of staffs are taken into decision making and the best ideas are selected by the leader, it is an effective way to maximize human resources and ideas, get different perspective and approaches to solve a problem, decisions are made thoroughly, after weighing and deliberating on the pros and cons of each the staffs ideas.
This leadership style involves everybody in the group to identify the firm’s goals and create strategic procedures and tools to attain the end result together, the leader acts as a facilitator and not just giving orders to be carried out, this style of leadership works better in volunteering organizations.
This system expands the team’s range of possibilities, as decision making does not solely depend on the ideas of one person, but of different individuals, problems are reviewed from different angles and approached from a variety of perceptions, critics are against this style of leadership because it is time consuming and not appropriate for time-consuming matters.
BEST SUITED FOR THE SCHOOL
As a new principal in a local school, consisting of 57 employees, I intend on adopting transformational leadership style as reforms were conducted on education directing to the change of management in schools, as it is noted that transformational leadership enhances the school functionality and processes. Burns (1978) once described this leadership style as medium of advancing motivation and morality between followers and leaders, practicing leaders tend to create more awareness for their employees by instituting the ideas of freedom, peace, justice, humanitarianism, equality, and limit that of fear, envy, greed as it is in Maslow’s needs hierarchy, they believe in the activation of higher needs for their employees. Bass in 1985 also contributed to Burn’s ideas that a leader motivates and shapes his employees by convincing them to go beyond their individual interests and collaborating to actualizing the organizational needs.
For the school to be effective, it requires skilled leaders, transformational leadership breed more leaders in the form of mentorship. In today’s educational sectors, the principal’s role is very complex and the in position is required to satisfy the needs of teachers in the school, while performing countless roles including administration and training, as clearly stated by DeLucca in 1997 that the principal plays a demanding and complex role, and it is increasingly getting more dramatic in the last 20years by Fullan (1991). For school principals to be able to meet up with the 21st century challenges, they are required to possess transformational skills, as recent studies have indicated by several scholars in the field that principals who adopted this style of leadership have staffed with greater satisfaction from their jobs and commitment to their teaching with reduced turnover of teachers, it is also reported that a team led with this approach of leadership tends to have greater performance levels than teams led with other approaches. This leaders’ help their employees grow and achieve extraordinary results, and in the process developing their follower’s abilities to become leaders themselves; they do this by responding individually to the needs of their followers, by aligning both the organizational goals and objectives with that of each member in an empowering way. The scholars also reported that staffs who are led by a transformational employer are seen to have better wellbeing across various factors such as age, gender, education, and job description.
Transformational leaders ascertain these positive conditions for their employees by being charismatic; thereby becoming an inspiration for their followers, they awaken their employees intellectually, influencing them to think more critically, approach problems with different views, share the organizational visions in views that would capture the attention of employees, and focus on improving their individual efforts to work as a team to meet the organizational objectives. Transformational initiative is communicated through the practices of the employees that convey leaders to have a more elevated amount of spirit and consciousness of the significance of their central goal and increase their dimension of inspiration, development and desires, just as their reference to the requirement for accomplishment, self-acknowledgment, social welfare, the achievement of the association and worry for its social condition. It changes the aspirations and expectations of their employees; it revamps the values and concepts, causing a significant change in both the organization and employee lives, including its corporate culture, this leadership style are based on the personality traits of the leader to develop genuine interest and create change and inspire individualized spirits to achieve a set goal and visions. Hebert (2011) in his research stated when leaders are more aware of their weak and strong points in dealing with emotional intelligence they become better equipped to develop their leadership skills more efficiently and improve their behaviours.
Transformational leadership helps principals cope with challenges that the educational sector face in this environment that is constantly changing, assists in enforcing innovative ideas for the success of the school, the leader’s influence is viewed in the school’s vision and corporate culture and also in the structure, planning and management. This approach tends to merge both the principal and teachers motives in a transforming way, going through the complex means to engage with one another, to motivate each other to higher growth levels in their commitment and dedication. Numerous investigations uncover exact proof supporting transformational leadership, as in Leithwood’s examination (2004), which gave an account of seven quantitative investigations and arrived at the resolution that transformational administration, viewed as a mind-boggling model, had an immediate and circuitous impact on the advancement of activities in restored school structures and on instructor desires for understudy accomplishments. Transformational administration furnishes school initiative with a regularizing approach that gains ground especially in the process by which pioneers can impact school accomplishments, and not just in regards to results. Bass in 1999 claims that transformational initiative serves today as a persuading model for instructive pioneers. Davies (2007) found that pioneers are progressively powerful when they are effectively changing, exhibiting and checking distinctive social factors in school life; this is a piece of the formation of the importance and experience of the school story. A reasonable end from the discoveries and portrayals of a large number of the examinations referenced above is that transformational initiative might be more compelling than value-based leadership in the two associations and instructive organizations while considering the administration required in the 21st century. With its fierce condition described today by steady change, leaders wind up filling focal positions, and both huge and little associations are looking for an extraordinary leader who isn’t just viewed as a key head yet, in addition, a transformative pioneer, who, in this quick world, can help with making organizations focused.
Su-Tan examination (2003) uncovers that transformative initiative has been observed to be the most fitting administration style for driving scholarly foundations. Instructive pioneers need not lead their association dependent on give-and-take connections, yet rather on the pioneer’s identity, character characteristics, capacity to achieve change by being a pioneer’s good example, just as continually focusing on a common vision and destinations. Consequently, it is sensible to accept that a school will require its principal to go about as a transformational instructive leader so as to adapt to the difficulties of the dynamic, changing condition in which the school capacities. In perspective on this dynamic, evolving reality, the rising challenges and innovations increase the need among firms for leadership that can join together and rally powers to accomplish hierarchical destinations without the requirement for utilization of any sorts of remunerations, by arousing autonomic inspiration, faithfulness and responsibility.
ACTIONS TO TAKE
- Creating a vision
Recognizing new open doors for the school, and furthermore grows cooperatively, articulating and hopeful that others have a dream of the school future.
- Team spirit
Cultivating the acknowledgement of solidarity with respect and advancing participation among staffs, and help devotees to cooperate towards shared objectives. These uncovered transformational practices become a motivation and pursued by the supporters. People can leave their own advantages for the interests of other people who are more in need, appearing dimension of good and moral leadership, The principal would not control in most extreme but rather would utilize all power sources for coordinating employees. The impact works by the mystique of the leader. The foremost would demonstrate the ability to share hazard so as to accomplish the goals of the association. Show magnanimous disposition of individual intrigue and shrewd utilization of its forces in activating people and working gatherings in the association.
- Provides appropriate models
The principal will set a genuine case for staff to pursue. The employees will be steady with the qualities uncovered by the leader. Transformational leaders are viewed as good examples, regarded and even respected by their adherents. The leader is likewise depicted as a pioneer who has a vision and mission that is clear and strong. Bass (1998), sets out that the impact of perfect featured in the transformational initiative is the point at which one of the pioneers set objectives to be accomplished, ready to clarify and control adherent with the goal that the accomplishment of the objectives are accomplished by model.
- Conveys high-performance expectations
Introduce practices that show desires, greatness, quality and superior exhibitions with respect to the staffs.
- Provides intellectual stimulation
The principal will dependably resolve the issue with the components of new and inventive reasoning, urging the supporters to think imaginatively in taking care of an issue; the adherents will make sense of the best answer for any issue, empowering staffs to address the difficulties and make them set out to manage it. Provoking staffs to reconsider a portion of the suppositions about their work, instructors should re-evaluate how it tends to be performed. Transformational leaders are people who set out to change existing conditions in bringing changes to accomplish the objectives anticipated. Through the scholarly incitement made, transformational pioneers create knowledgeable staffs, become increasingly innovative particularly in the field of critical thinking.
- Provides individualized support
The principal will centre and put regard for the requirements and capability of the school staffs, regards every one of the educators as people to be regarded, continually making an agreeable atmosphere among representatives by giving consolation and backing to them, manufacture a helpful workplace and be touchy to the necessities of its intended interest group, regarding the distinctions among people. This circumstance can frame agreement in accomplishing organizational objectives.
- Inspiring Motivation
This triggers and rouses school staffs through actions and words. The principal will direct instructors and provide awareness of the difficulties and significant knowledge of whatever is needed to be known.
CONCLUSION
An end that can be drawn from the above is that organizational leaders at large and school principals specifically have the ability to extensively impact procedures and results, and, through them, to influence the general conduct and execution of their supporters; Initiating a dynamic procedure of spurring individuals to perform assignments after some time. The investigations surveyed above have demonstrated that transformational initiative has positive ramifications on these practices and exhibitions, and subsequently, leadership is seen to be one of the focal jobs of a school essential. The expression “initiative” communicates the vision, the mission, the qualities and motivation; the expression “the board” alludes to the usage of the assets. The instructive pioneer is effectively engaged with the advancement of the instructive framework and the supervision of its endeavours. In research writing, one can recognize a principal’s job as one who is worried about keeping up the working of the school as an association and the attributes of a supervisor as a pioneer who is equipped for guaranteeing the powerful working and brilliance of the association. Compelling working is communicated in the structure of the instructing with the end goal that understudy accomplishments will improve and there will be fulfilment among the showing staff and understudy.
REFERENCES
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Bass, B. M., Riggio, R. E. (2008). Transformational Leadership. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
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Davies, B. (2007). Developing Sustainable Leadership. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
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