Applying leadership theories

The school I have chosen as the subject to my research is located in an urban district. The school houses grades kindergarten through sixth grade and will grow to eighth grade within the next two year. The population is mostly African American, coming from a low income house hold. The administration is made up of a principal and vice principal. Other important stakeholders consist of the PTA, teachers, the child study team, and the leadership committee. The principal has been in the building for three consecutive years. However, this was not his first position in administration.

He previously was a principal to a smaller school for behaviorally challenged students. His first year, he was considered everyone’s friend. He tried to make friends with the staff to understand the building’s dynamics. His second year, he toughen up a bit, but continued to make the mistake of being everyone’s friend, and did not incorporate the leadership qualities to lead his team to success. This year, has been very challenging. It has been difficult to hold teacher, parents, and students to new standards when they were so accustomed to a laid back approach.

According to the article Harnessing the Power of Adventure: Leadership Styles, “ Leadership is the ability to move a group towards a common goal that would not be met if a leader had not been there (Graham, 1997). ” The first day my principal stepped foot into our building, he held a meeting. He met with the teachers, assistants, and aides to discuss his plans for a success year. During his first year as administrator, the leadership that he demonstrated was Directive. According o the module one lecture notes, directive leadership utilize when change is needed quickly. In his first year, the principal was expected to make many changes rapidly to the structure of the building as well as set the stage to improve state assessments. In order to do this, his goal was to learn the abilities of the staff while showing everyone that he was in charge, his changes were final, and we would all have to adapt to his style. In his second year as principal, the leader decided to take a different approach to his leadership style.

Because he was familiar with the staff, during this year, the principal took an Affiliative approach. This leadership style was essential because the principal knew the strengths and weaknesses of his staff from working closely with them the previous year. His focus during his second year as principal was to build relationships with the staff that could eventually benefit the success of the school. Knowing where people where strongest and where they worked best would give him the opportunity to mentor and coach them in order to use them effectively in the school.

This would also give him an opportunity to identify those individuals whom were weak in the area they worked in so that he could move them and use them appropriately. The affiliative leadership can also be identified as transformational leadership. According to Aydin, Sarier, and Uysal, transformational leadership is “ A person who takes care of his followers, mobilizes their forces to meet the needs and potential (Burns, 2003, p. 230). ” This leadership style is significant because as an administrator, you want to use the members of your team to their full potential.

Those members should be utilized to maximize their strength. The principal did this because he had the ability to study the staff his first year, identify their assets and place them accordingly in the building according to the information he gathered. This school year, the principal was more confident that he would be able to achieve his goals. After working closely with his staff, his leadership approach this year could be considered collaborative. The collaborative approach is used when future leaders will be developed.

This coming school year, another grade will be added, and the administration team will grow. A member of the school team will become an assistant principal. Our current principal has spent the last three years molding, guiding, and mentoring this individual. From day one at our school, he has managed his team to identify those individuals that would succeed in positions of authority. This coming school year, not only will there be a new member to the administration team, but literacy coaches and other essential members will be established.

The principal has worked closely with certain individuals that demonstrate leadership qualities. “ Transformational leaders can create a positive organizational climate, reach goals more easily, and increase the levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of stakeholders as a result of motivating followers and paying close attention to them (Deluga & Souza, 1991; Leithwood & Jantzi, 1999; Rowold & Scholtz, 2009). ” A combination of these leadership styles are essential to running a productive, successful school where teachers are motivated to present quality education to their students.

An administrator does not run a school possessing only one of these qualities. The individual needs to be equipped with many ideas or styles to utilize during the right situations. Administrators today face a difficult time as school leaders. The principal needs to identify and be aware of the current expectations of making sure the school is successful by improving test scores. Also, the principal needs to ensure that he or she can manage a school where all stakeholders feel safe, comfortable, and can work together.