Research Related to Leadership Effeciency

What do we know about leadership?

According to researchers reviews the leader is the person who develops a vision, motivates his followers to engage with his vision and reinforces his team’s collaboration towards achieving this vision. People Frequently assumed that person in a management position is a leader, but unfortunately not all leaders manage. In highlighting the difference between leaders and managers, Warren Bennis (1989) notes: “To survive in the twenty-first century, we are going to need a new generation of leaders—leaders, not managers. The distinction is an important one. Leaders conquer the context—the volatile, turbulent, ambiguous surroundings that sometimes seem to conspire against us and will surely suffocate us if we let them—while managers surrender to it”. Bennis also stated that “Managers do things right, while leaders do the right things”

The literature reviews found that there are six different leadership styles. The styles have a direct and distinctive impact on the working atmosphere of the organization, team, and on its financial performance.

Coercive leaders ask their followers to comply what they want immediately. Authoritative leaders offer direction and guidance for his people toward a vision. They lead through “Come with me” perspective. While, affiliative leaders build emotional bonds and harmony with his followers. The Democratic leaders give their followers the opportunity to have participative role in the decision-making. Pacesetting leadership style is focusing on results, not how the results are achieved. Coaching leaders create a positive workspace environment. as they support their subordinates to improve their skills and performance. These leadership styles and other styles like transactional, visionary and charismatic leaders, build a strong sense of resonance and should be applied daily, depending on the situation.

According to Danial Golman research the way we handle ourselves and our relationships refers to emotion intelligence. Scientific inquiry suggests that there are five components of emotional intelligence at Work: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill.

To be a leader consequently you ‘ll have followers. Barbara Kellerman stated the typology of followership as follows:

-Isolates are totally detached.

– Bystanders monitor but do not participate.

– Participants are in engaged some way. They care to invest their skills to have an impact.

– Activists are eager, energetic and engaged.

– Diehards are devoted to their beliefs, whether it is an individual or concept or both.

Michael Fullan acclaimed in (Leading in a Culture of Change,2001) that in a Culture of Change leaders must be able to perform under complex and uncertain circumstances.

In a world of increasing complexity, effective leaders must strive to understand their multifaceted organizations.

Further, a multi-perspective view of organizations raises the awareness of the significance of enhancing culture within work environments. Therefore, leaders need to be aware of the Bolman and Deal frames and apply them to manage the organization.

So, let us dig more into the frames and conclude which frame leaders should follow?

Bolman and Deal elaborate that leaders should manage the organization from four frames: Structural, political, human resources and symbolic frame. The structural perspective concentrates on strategy; setting goals, responsibilities and reporting lines; approving process and deadlines; and build systems and procedures.

According to Bollman and Deal in (Bolman & Deal reframing organizations, 2007) The human resource frame focuses on individual’s needs and give them the opportunity to perform their tasks well, at the same time addressing their needs.

The political frame approach organizations are coalitions made up of individuals and parties with differences who share scarce resources.

The symbolic frame offers powerful vision into fundamental issues, as well as opportunities for linking people into a cohesive group with a same mission.

The effective leader change lenses according to the situation. Reframing give leaders the new possibilities, even though we cannot guarantee that the new strategy and possibilities will be effective.

We often concerned about conflict situations in work as we believe that their outcomes are always negative. However, this is not necessarily accurate. Conflict can be changed into a positive energy that can increase personal and organization efficiency. According to Robbins (2005) conflict is a situation that surfaces the moment one party perceives that another party has adversely affected or about to gravely affect something that the first party desires. Furthermore, Mullins and Christy (2013) assert that conflict is a behavior projected to obstruct the achievement of some other person’s plans.

Leaders may have several ways of responding to conflict. These responds were developed by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann, (Kindler, 1995; Thomas & Killman 1979) identify five specific aspects for managing conflict: Compete, Accommodate, Avoid, compromise and collaborate.

Efficient leader should focus and implement the essential plans and programs to support students & parents and develop the education environment. One of these plans is emergency management plan. Creating safe learning environment is normally part of a school’s mission statement (Harris, 2011). Every school should prepare a crisis management planning guide that shows appropriate steps for each type of emergency. The plan should be developed all the way through collaboration of staff, students, and administration. Such collaboration raises the knowledgebase and number of persons able to deal with emergencies. Development the plan according to the previous steps also increases ownership for the guide and its contents. Schools must update and change ineffective safety designs to meet all safety protocols. This will lead the school into a successful school safety program.

The eight principles of emergency management outlined by Blanchard et al. (2007) are:

1) comprehensive; 2) progressive; 3) risk-driven; 4) integrated; 5) collaborative.

6) coordinated; 7) flexible; and 8) professional. These eight principles should be applied to help schools recognize deficiencies in the safety plan.

Experts say that every school who are serious about improving should employ Professional Development Community (PLC). PLC involves a group of educators that meet consistently, shares expertise, and collaborate to improve teaching skills and enhance students’ academic performance.

It is important to teach our students how to face their challenges and manage them. Conflict Resolution Education (CRE) is a program that educates students how to resolve conflict in their schools and communities. CRE provides critical life skills necessary for building caring communities and establishing constructive relationships (Jones and Compton, 2003). This program aims to create safe learning environment, enhance student’s emotional and social development and create a constructive Conflict Community and learning environment.

It is notable nowadays that students are interested and engaged in using technology. This enables schools and teachers the opportunities to apply and integrate technology in the classroom to make effective learning. E-leaning also, allows students to become self-directed learners who work well with their friends and technology.

On the other hand, technological developments have multiple impacts on our lives. Schools should set AUP (Accepted Usage Policy) to guide the students to use the internet in a safe and sensible manner.

In the following section I would like to share the survey and interviews that I performed with school director, HODs, subordinates and some of my observations about the studied topics to conclude the school vision, mission and the framework. The following table shows different points of view.

Questions

School Director

HODs

Subordinates

Leadership Styles

Democratic

Affiliative & Coercive

Affiliative & Coercive

The school director performs the affiliative leader style who cares about her employees and builds relations with them. She depends on “Mother’s Model” so that her subordinates comply. Coercive leader who wants her followers to” Do what I say?”.

Types

of Followership

Participants: devoted to the board

Activists

Bystanders

The subordinates started the academic year eager to learn to develop their learning skills. After unresolved conflicts related to their salaries and did not receive the expected support from the school director, they turned to be bystanders followers.

Leader Vs. Manager

Manager & Leader

Manager

Manager

Prior the spring break communicating the vacation rules, school director informed the teacher of their vacation guideline and excluded the Liberian from this process and informed her that she is following the administration vacation guidelines. However, that the Liberian duties are like the teachers since she performs teaching duties assigned by the school director. Hence, the school director acted as manager since she followed the hierarchy.

Bolman and Deal Frames

Political

Political and Symbolic

Political and Symbolic

Our school slogan is “No Student is Left Behind” which we follow and implement different practices and methods to successfully operate by it. In addition to the Symbolic frame the school director follows the political approach in handling parents’ criticisms to avoid any conflicts.

Conflict Management Style

Compromising (Fox) with teachers and Accommodating (Teddy Bear) in handling parents’ complaints.

Avoiding (Turtle) with teachers & Accommodating (Teddy Bear) with parents’ complaints.

Avoiding (Turtle) with teachers & Accommodating (Teddy Bear) with parents’ complaints.

During the coronavirus pandemic, school director rejected my proposal to use virtual classrooms sessions to communicate with the students. Due to the lack of sufficient internet connection, she instructed teachers to:

A. record videos

B. upload the materials to google classroom.

After parents’ unpleasant feedback and their requests to change this course of action. School director gave a new instruction after considering the parents feedback:

A. keep recording videos.

B. keep uploading the materials to google classroom.

C. implementing virtual classrooms.

Emergency Plan

We had a documented Plan designed according to Cambridge.

not acquainted to it before.

Plan exists, all they knew is the evacuation maps.

My school did not even perform any fire drills. Although, we had a documented emergency management plan (as my manager declared when I asked her), but neither me nor the staff were acquainted before to it.

Conflict Resolution Education

(CRE)

Bullying campaign and hygiene week at the beginning of the academic year.

Do not know what is CRE.

Do not know what is CRE.

As a new school we tried at the beginning of the year to impalement well-being events like hygiene week and anti-bullying campaign. These events had good impact on the students, but the school does not have CRE program.

Professional Learning Communities

(PLC)

Conducting general meetings, targeting Cambridge courses only.

Not all department set staff meetings.

Not all the workshops were effective for them.

English department teachers were satisfied with the department meetings.

Teachers claimed not all the external trainings were effective.

When I asked the academic manager to consider the PLC meetings and the CPD in the next academic year calendar she was not aware of the CPD or PLC.

Technology

We have maintained technology.

To have a paperless environment and communicate with parents through SMS and Emails.

Satisfied with the accessible technology in the classrooms. But suffers from lack of appropriate teachers’ on-line resources.

Some teachers (FS) claimed that the available resources were supportive, and they used them in hands-on activities.

Teachers stated that using google classroom and Zoom program to communicate and support the students with needed explanation and material is fruitful during the pandemic. I.T. department is suffering from the scarcity of resources such as poor internet connection; technology infrastructure needs revamp and Learning Management System (LMS) is obsolete as well as the school website.The teachers don’t have access to the LMS, and parents are exhausted by the steps they should follow to access their children accounts.

In light of my study for leadership and school management course, and from my reviews, I would like to put my recommendation for my school to enhance the school framework:

· Leader vs. Manager: although the school director is performing both management styles except that she must move toward the leadership characteristics more and try to apply the authoritative and transformational styles.

· Bolman & Deal four Frames: The ability to use multiple frames was a consistent correlate of effectiveness. As shown in above table we can see that the applied frames are political and symbolic. Consequently, my advice is to apply the school organisational structure and clear job descriptions with assigned tasks and responsibilities to avoid rework or confusion. Human resources frames to maintain the balance between teachers’ needs (teachers’ online resources – CPD) and formal roles. Plus, to motivate and coordinate a teachers’ diversity.

· Emergency Management Plan: in the previous section I stated that we have a documented emergency plan with no accessibility. Therefore, we should review, evaluate and understand the existing plan then, inform and train the staff on executing the plan this requires defining response team members who will be responsible on execution.

· Conflict Management Style: The school director should reduce teddy bear style with the parents and try to use the collaborating (Owl) style to achieve the optimal benefit for both parents and school.

· Professional Development Plans: unfortunately, the school CPD program was not efficient for the teachers this year as most of the external training was canceled and the workshops/courses that teachers attended was not beneficial for them. So, I suggest doing survey for the teachers by the end of the scholastic year and encouraging them to address the needed training that would enhance their teaching methods and strategies. In addition to, considering the CPD timing and include it in the school calendar. Regular staff meeting for all subjects should be organized previously and considered in the school schedule. Class visits and peer visits should be done frequently as a part of the PLC to address the advantage and deficiencies to enhanced teachers’ knowledgebase and their classroom activities.

· Conflict Management Education: The school should set program to teach the student how to resolve conflict in a positive way.

· Technology Usage: in this part we have three areas that should be developed:

1. School infrastructure: the school should maintain a strong internet connection so both students and staff can benefit it.

2. Learning Management System (LMS) & School website: the school LMS should be renovated to grant an easy access and browsing for the parents as well as teachers. Likewise, LMS should include an efficient grading system instead of the current manual work.

3. School Technology Vision: should be clear and stated in the school vision. While the school is expanding and we are expecting newcomers in the upper grades, an appropriate AUP should be prepared and published to the parents and students at the beginning of the next academic year.

References

Bennis, W. G. (1989). Managing the dream: Leadership in the 21st century. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 2, 7.
Fullan, M. (2001). The new, meaning of educational change(3rded.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Robbins, S.P. (2005) Organizational behavior (11th ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Mullins, L. & Christy, G. (2013). Management and organizational behavior (10th ed.). UK: Pearson.
Kilmann, R. H., & Thomas, K. W. (1977). Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: The “MODE” instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement.
Harris, J. (2012). Rampage violence requires a new type of research. American
Journal of Public Health. 102(6)
Blanchard, B. W., Canton L., Cwiak C., Goss K., McEntire, D…, West D. (2007).
Principles to Guide Emergency Management Supplement. Retrieved from:
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1822-25045 7625/principles_of_emergency_management.pdf
Jones, T. S., and Compton, R. Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making
Peace in Our Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.