Transformational leadership builds on followers’ higher level of consciousness and appeals to a higher morality in followers. We are doing this because it is the right thing to do would be the thinking in an organization working under a transformational leader. The we underscores the idealized influence and inspirational motivation that the leader has used to create in followers ownership of the goals. Without the sense of trust and respect for the leader, this type of leadership will not work. The leader leads by example, and it is her strong sense of mission and purpose and the integrity of her acts that inspire others.
After reading about this type of leadership, I connected Barrack Obama, the candidate, as a transformational leader. Although President Obama seems to be more of a transactional leader or perhaps this is just the nature of government at this time in America.
I believe transformational leadership can have a huge impact on school leadership and administration. I find it most frustrating when I see adults behave in a manner that we wouldn’t find acceptable from the children we teach. Transformational leadership acts on the assumption that the leader is providing a role model for the followers. Through their example of integrity, commitment, and sense of purpose, the administrator now becomes a model for both teachers and students. Communicating a vision of high standards to teachers and students and accepting nothing less sets the tone and climate of the school, which I believe greatly influences how students behave.
An administrator who takes time to truly give individualized attention for both positive and negative behavior builds an active relationship with staff that fosters a sense of high expectations and integrity. Our current administrator has a habit of sending out all staff reminders regarding what hasn’t been done, which serves to annoy the people who have completed the task. I’m sure this is the most efficient method on his part; however, the parties not completing tasks will continue to wait for the reminder before completing them, and those who complete in a timely manner see no benefit in doing so. Likewise, praise given to the group at large rings hollow to those who know the level of effort put in by certain individuals doesn’t warrant praise. Individualized attention holds people accountable but also rewards people for efforts in a meaningful manner.
Intellectual stimulation can be done through ongoing professional learning communities. Groups or individuals can become experts on any one of the many areas of interest and need and share that knowledge with the school community. In this way, individuals are dialoguing about the school’s issues and contributing to solutions. This allows teachers to see their influence beyond their own classroom walls further building on the shared sense of purpose.
This model of leadership would have a great impact on the integration of technology within instruction. Our district has had Promethean boards installed in all classrooms in the last year. I believe the next step is to expect the school leaders to run their staff meetings utilizing the board: sharing the agenda through a flipchart, using the learner response systems to gather info/opinions from staff, saving notes, etc. for future meetings. This would be the example of modeling the behavior you seek, which I feel is at the core of transformational leadership. It sends the message of a vision of technology integration.
Utilizing professional learning communities (PLC) for the many and varied types of technology to be integrated is another opportunity for intellectual stimulation. Each PLC could be given time to report on the types of integration activities they have tried and the strengths, weaknesses, successes and problems with each. This would develop teachers’ talents and provide support for team members.
An administrator with integrity would have to have a clear understanding of what technology integration means so that she would be able to truly evaluate individual’s strengths and weaknesses in this area. However, the nature of technology deprives one from the label of “expert” all of the time. This presents an opportunity for the leader to again model for others. The leader can model the passion and drive to become knowledgeable in emerging technologies, the research and reflection necessary for moving on new initiates, and the ability to realign the system of teaching to reflect the possibilities brought about with new technology. Relying on the internal experts created by PLCs, also allows for additional elements of the transformational leadership model (developing new leaders, expanding job description) to emerge.
I have not had the opportunity to work for a transformational leader in my teaching career. Perhaps it is the nature of schools, to get mired down in traditional roles, procedures and protocols, and the crisis du jour that prevents leaders from performing in a transformational way. I believe a passion and sense of purpose is necessary for this type of leadership, and I have seen those qualities in many teachers. Some questions I am left with are what happens to those qualities when those teachers become leaders? And why is it those types of teachers don’t move on to become school leaders?
