Transformational Leadership

Thoughts

“If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.”
~ Henry Kissinger ~

“A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.”
~ Baltasar Gracian ~

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”
~ Bill Gates ~

“Leadership is the challenge to be more than average.”
~ Jim Rohn ~

James S. Pounder (2006) in "Transformational Classroom Leadership
The Fourth Wave of Teacher Leadership?" emphasizes in the following "waves" of teacher leadership:
- 1. confined teacher leadership within the formal organizational hierarchy
and merely placed the concept close to the teaching function
- 2. placed more emphasis on the instructional dimension of
the teaching function but still vested teacher leadership in formally created
organizational positions such as team leader and curriculum developer
- 3. teacher leadership is a process rather than a positional concept
- 4. it could include transformational classroom leadership as one
of the defining qualities of a teacher leader and could embrace both school and
university contexts.
The author notes that teacher leaders tend to possess many of the characteristics of
transformational leaders.

Huber and West (2002) delineate the following stages:
1. The personality or trait theory of leadership: focusing on great men and women leaders in history, for example: Gandhi, Mandela, Churchill, Thatcher….
2. Examining what good leaders actually do
3. Attention to the context in which leadership is exercised: Task-related and people-centred behaviours.
4. Linking the culture of the organization to the leader.

Key characteristics of Instructional & Transformational Leadership that I as teacher-scholar experienced during my M.Ed experience:

I got Voice –means feeling free to ‘speaking my truth.’
Vision and Passion: a view of the future, injecting enthusiasm and energy
I have a simple vision: To teach people that Life is Happiness
My values are: freedom, honesty, balance, trust, determination, confidence, being healthy, contribution, family…
Personal integrity: creating trust and being a good listener. Intellectual stimulation (researcher)
Confidence Principle & Personal Charisma: persuasiveness and sound self-esteem (no arrogance). “A confident persuader creates confidence in the persuaded.”
The Route Forwards: inspirational motivation, finding the way forwards, feeling progress…
Seeking to Transform: seeking change, to transform the organization, the followers are the product of the transformation… for example, my focus at the University in Venezuela: helping to restructure the graduate program of education(a specialization "Tecnologias de la Informacion Comunicacion") by improving program conditions e.g., "Communication & Technology for Freedom". This program will be good not only for educators, teachers, faculty but for lawyers, politicians, etc. as well. Different people often seek updating knowledge in Communication & Technology (see: http://www.ucv.ve/?id=1684)
http://www.ucv.ve/
Transformational Leadership Sources: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership.htm
http://www.waynelee.com/become-a-great-leader.htm

Hallinger’s (2003) re: instructional leadership proposes three dimensions:
1. defining the school’s mission,
2. managing the instructional program,
3. promoting a positive school-learning climate.

Marks and Printy (2003) the term “instructional leadership” should replace the hierarchical and procedural notion with the concept of “shared” instructional leadership. In this model, the principal is the “leader of instructional leaders” not the person who is independently responsible for leadership initiatives within the school…

Dimmock (1995) asserts that instructional leadership is too prescriptive and relies on a top down process of management. A better strategy would be a bottom-up approach. The proposed “backward mapping” would begin with student outcomes and then progress up through the following: learning styles and processes; teaching strategies; school organization and structure; and leadership, management, resources and culture/climate.
The challenge for many principals is to work with the various educational stakeholders to maintain some sense of balance…

Adams and Kirst (2004)state, “Policy makers, educational leaders, practitioners, and parents also continued to seek better student performance and accountability through management practices, professional standards, teacher commitment, democratic processes, and parent choice” (p. 466).

New terms began to emerge in literature such as: shared leadership, teacher leadership, distributed leadership and transformational leadership. Burns’ latest book entitled Transforming Leadership: A New Pursuit of Happiness (2003) offers an expansion of his earlier book.

Bernard M. Bass & Bruce J. Avolio (1998) "Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire" (MLQ). Components of transformational leadership:
1. Charismatic Leadership, or Idealized Influence. Transformational leaders are role models; they are respected and admired by their followers. Followers identify with leaders and they want to emulate them. Leaders have a clear vision and sense of purpose and they are willing to take risks.
2. Inspirational Motivation. Transformational leaders behave in ways that motivate others, generate enthusiasm and challenge people. These leaders clearly communicate expectations and they demonstrate a commitment to goals and a shared vision.
3. Intellectual Stimulation. Transformational leaders actively solicit new ideas and new ways of doing things. They stimulate others to be creative and they never publicly correct or criticize others.
4. Individualized Consideration. Transformational leaders pay attention to the needs and tthe potential for developing others. These leaders establish a supportive climate where individual differences are respected. Interactions with followers are encouraged and the leaders are aware of individual concerns (Bass, 1998)
Source:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/stewart.html