Some Theories and Theorists on Leadership

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Transactional and Transformational Leadership
Total Quality Management
Servant Leadership
Situational Leadership
Instructional Leadership
Some Prominent Theorists
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

The concept of leadership is very critical in any given society or institution particularly when it comes to guiding people’s behavior. The success of any society is highly connected to the type of leaders who manage the various affairs. Many researchers have conducted investigations to explore this concept which has proved difficult to obtain a universal definition.

However, significant amount of findings have been gathered from research. Leaders have been found to possess specific qualities and responsibilities once they are in positions of leaderships. This paper provides a summary of the prominent theories and theorists who have contributed significantly to leadership which are discussed in Chapter 2 of the book, School leadership that works: from research to results, by Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005).

Transactional and Transformational Leadership

The chapter starts by providing a description of the prominent theories of leadership which have influenced many school leaders (principals). The first theory that was used by researchers in the analysis of data collected was transformational and transactional leadership.

These two leadership terms are normally used in the educational and business fields. A definition of leadership according to Burns is offered. Burn defines leadership as the act of leaders persuading their followers to drive towards certain objectives that are both deeply desired by the followers as well as the leaders themselves. The ability of leaders is measured by their interaction with the followers relative to what the followers believe in.

Transactional leadership has been defined as the trading of one thing for another while transformational leadership is geared more towards change. The chapter identifies three forms of transactional leadership: management-by-exception-passive, management-by-exception-active, and constructive transactional. Constructive transactional leadership is regarded as the most effective of the three.

Transformational leadership, on the other hand, is identified as being more effective of the two since it produces exceptional results. This type of leadership empowers the followers to become leaders while leaders assume the role of agents that guide the followers. Four outstanding characteristics have been associated with transformational leaders: individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence. They are commonly known as the “Four I’s”.

The application of transformational leadership in the education sector has also been covered in this chapter. It is noted that the Four I’s of transformational leadership can be very useful for school principals in order to be in a position to deal with the challenges that modern schools face. Each of the Four I’s is critical in ensuring that all the needs of the school stakeholders are sufficiently met.

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) was founded by Edward Deming (1986) when he designed how businesses could recover from the effects of WWI. He formulated 14 principles that are applicable to all institutions. The revised and summarized versions of Deming’s work have been developed and are used to characterize effective leaders. They are: change agency, teamwork, continuous improvement, trust building, and abolition of short-term goals.

Servant Leadership

The use of this term in leadership books was first witnessed in the 1970s. Robert Greenleaf (1970, 1977) believed that effective leaders emerge as servants of the people. This type of leadership presents a different picture of who a leader is as compared to that given by transactional and transformational leadership.

In the case of transactional leadership, for instance, a leader is expected to be a “controller” or “manager” of the followers. A servant leader occupies a central position in the organization and is in touch with virtually everything that happens in the organization. The other types of leadership place the leader at the top of the hierarchy in an organization. The role of a servant leader is to nurture the members in the organization.

A servant leader ought to possess critical skills in order to be described as one. First, the leader should understand individual needs of the members.

Secondly, must be able to resolve conflicts and reconcile members. The leader should also be the custodian of organization’s resources. Fourthly, a servant leader should help the members in developing their potentials and lastly, be an effective listener in order to understand the members within the organization. Although not very popular, this style of leadership has received approval from some theorists.

Situational Leadership

Another key theory explains the situational leadership which is associated with the work of Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard. A situational leader adapts his or her leadership skills to followers’ readiness to perform a given task. Different styles of leadership relate high and low willingness and ability to execute specific tasks. The first is the high task-low relationship focus where the leader directs followers who are not motivated.

The second is the high task-high relationship focus where the leader interacts freely with the followers without loosing the power to command. Thirdly, there is the low task-low relationship. In this case, the relationship between the leader and the followers is generally low.

The last style is the low task-high relationship focus where the leader delegates most of the work to the followers who are motivated and able to perform a given task. The proponents of this theory of leadership argue that an effective leader knows how to balance the four styles of leadership.

Instructional Leadership

Instructional leadership has been the most popular theme in educational leadership over last twenty years. However, this concept has note been clearly defined in the field of education. Wilma Smith and Richard Andrews (1989) identified four major dimensions of an effective instructional leader. The instructional leader is the resource provider, source of instruction, communicator, and visible presence. These roles help the leader in the organization to coordinate the activities of the followers within the organization.

Some Prominent Theorists

A significant number of renowned theorists have greatly influenced the leadership styles in the education sector. The chapter highlights some of the influential theorists that were crucial in the analysis of the research literature.

Warren Bennis (2003) is concerned with the future of leadership. He is concerned much with the need to adapt to the changing times as far as leadership is concerned. He identifies four major characteristics of an effective leader in the 21^st century. First, Bennis notes a successful leader encourages participation in facing the future.

Second, the leader must be easily identifiable by the followers due to unique qualities. Third, the leader must set high moral standards and demonstrate optimism of achievement. Lastly, a leader must be able to adjust to relentless pressure to change.

Peter Block (2003) describes leadership as the skill of effective questioning and the ability to provide good environment to facilitate the development of solutions to the questions. James Collins (2001) points out that there are five levels of leadership with those at level 5 being very effective and lead great organizations.

Level 5 leaders are characterized by determination and commitment to achieve the set organizational goals. Stephen Covey (1989) is another famous theorist who has influenced the field of education. He wrote about the habits (7) of effective leaders/persons. Other prominent theorists identified in the chapter who have contributed various theories of leadership include Michael Fullan, Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky, and James Spillane.

The chapter goes ahead to offer other synthesis efforts examined in the research. 25 categories of principal behavior that positively affect the dependent variables of student achievement, student attitudes, student behavior, teacher attitudes, teacher behaviors, and dropout rates were identified by Cotton.

Conclusion

The paper has provided a brief summary of Chapter 2 of the book, School leadership that works: from research to results by Marzano et al. (2005). Major theories of leadership have been discussed. Transactional, transformational, total quality management and instructional leadership have significantly influenced educational leadership. Some of the major theorists and their contributions have been highlighted. Other synthesis efforts were also used in the research thus enhancing the perspective/framework of the findings.

Reference

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T. & McNulty, B. A. (2005). School leadership that works: from research to results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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