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BENCHMARK-LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PHILOSOPHY

Benchmark-Leadership Style and Philosophy

Michelle A. Kuby

Grand Canyon University: EAD-501

September 9, 2020
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BENCHMARK-LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PHILOSOPHY
When sitting down to reflect on my leadership style and philosophy, I realized how much

experience I have already had as a leader, albeit in less high-level roles. These experiences

helped me create a philosophy that matched my actions. Although my ideas and theories will

undoubtedly change, my core values and beliefs will stay consistent. As I have progressed

through life, I have always been a rule follower and believe that everyone else should follow the

rules as well. I tend to get frustrated if others are doing something that in my opinion is wrong,

especially without receiving any consequences. I conveyed that mentality within my classroom; I

assigned very rigid rules, which brought structure and stability. Students thrive off of structure

and routine, so my students appreciated this and responded very well to it. Some could consider

this a trait of a transactional leader, but I believe my leadership style is heavily transformational

with a few aspects of servant leadership. In the article, A History of Transactional Leadership in

Academe: A Cautionary Tale, Duemer gives an example of how a transactional leader would

encourage an employee to exceed the set expectations by incentivizing them with a promotion.

[ CITATION Lee16 \l 1033 ]. I do not believe that incentives belong in the educational world.

Although many would consider me very indecisive within my personal life, I am very

predictable and thoughtful in my decisions within the classroom. I am able to reflect every day,

class by class, student by student, and evaluate the successes and pitfalls for that day. If I made a

mistake or handled a situation poorly, I always made a point of apologizing and making sure my

students knew we all have flaws and make mistakes. I tend to be a people pleaser, which,

although takes a toll on my emotional stamina, made for a very enjoyable work environment.

While I have coworkers that I consider my friends outside of work, I got along with all of my

coworkers. I also have created a positive atmosphere within my classroom and have worked for

many years building my relationships with students. I coach several extracurricular activities
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BENCHMARK-LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PHILOSOPHY
which allows me to build relationships with my students in a different environment. All of these

personal values and beliefs will guide me towards becoming a successful leader.

At this point in my career, my leadership style fits the style of a transformational leader.

When reading and understanding more about this philosophy, I found this statement written in

Transformational Leadership in Education: Concept Analysis to be relatable. It states, “…

transformational leaders are capable to motivate their followers beyond self-interest and using

more extrinsic motivators.” [ CITATION Cri12 \l 1033 ] Because of my fundamental drive to

create positive relationships with others, I believe that I can encourage an atmosphere of trust

within my school. Transformational leaders understand that times change, and methods need to

evolve, which is why they are viewed as successful leaders. I have spent many years in different

leadership positions, and one thing that remained constant with me was the way I reflected on

what was working within the position and what needed to be adapted prior to me starting. I will

apply this to my future role as an educational leader. From year to year, a school is full of

change; the student demographics change, the staff changes, the data and testing change. It is

very important to process the needs of the students and the staff and create an underlying goal.

Being a transformational leader means encouraging creativity and collaboration within your

staff. At the start of every year, I believe a key to a successful school year is discussing these

changes with staff and creating a vision or goal. Allowing the staff to be knowledgeable of the

data and encouraging them to create this vision ensures that everyone feels valued and has their

voices heard. This is just a few of the ways that I exemplify the transformational leadership style.

Prior to this course, I believed that my leadership style aligned solely with a transformational

leadership style. After reading about Greenleaf and his description of servant leadership, I came

to realize that I have some servant leadership tendencies. Although I do not consider myself
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encompassing all of the characteristics of this leadership style, I do have a few. The main

characteristic of servant leadership that I embody is awareness. I have been viewed as a people

pleaser, and am very aware of other people’s emotions, reactions, and behaviors. According to

Greenleaf, “awareness is a quality within servant leaders that makes them acutely attuned and

receptive to their physical, social and political environments. It includes understanding oneself

and the impact one has on others. With awareness, servant leaders are able to step aside and view

themselves and their own perspectives in the greater context of the situation.” [ CITATION

Nor19 \l 1033 ] As mentioned, I am a very sensitive and emotional person and in turns means I

am hypersensitive to other people’s emotions. If I have a staff member that is unhappy, frustrated

or has felt isolated, I will become aware of it immediately. My goal is to create an environment

of community, collaboration, and creativity. “Servant leadership promotes the collaboration

between employees and encourages them for emotional and professional development.

Emotional interaction results in strong and positive relationships between leaders and their

employees.”[ CITATION Mah20 \l 1033 ] I genuinely want others to find success, which will

provide me satisfaction and happiness.

As previously stated in this essay, I believe in structure, rules, and consequences for your

actions. I believe this will be a beneficial characteristic as I grow into an educational leader. As a

leader, I know that there are a multitude of responsibilities. I have focused the majority of my

time understanding how to be a great leader for other people, such as the staff and students. A

leader sets the tone for the communication and the level of success within the school. I know that

my personal disposition will ensure that all children and staff will be held accountable for setting

and achieving high standards. Staff will be encouraged to participate in professional

developments which will strengthen their content knowledge. This in turn will encourage
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BENCHMARK-LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PHILOSOPHY
creativity within their classroom and increase student participation and achievement. According

to the article Transformational Leadership in Education: Concept Analysis, one of the four major

elements that transformational leadership comprises of is intellectual stimulation. In this article,

the author describes intellectual stimulation stating, “…refers to the capability of the leaders to

arouse followers to think outside the box, to challenge their assumptions and to come up with

new ideas or solutions for the problems they face.” [ CITATION Cri12 \l 1033 ] As a leader, I

believe it is my responsibility to search for these professional development opportunities to

continue the stimulation. By encouraging this, teachers will bring back a spark into their

classroom and the higher-level learning will be attained.

Prior to taking this course, I was unaware of servant leadership and the qualities and

characteristics that a great leader has. I also believed that genetics had everything to do with

being a successful and well-respected leader. In other words, you either had it or you did not.

After reading a multitude of articles and chapters within the textbook, it became very apparent

that these traits for a transformational leader, a servant leader and even a transactional leader, are

all traits that can be learned and developed. I have always made it my goal in life to make sure

others are happy, support them, and make sure they know they can depend on me. In turn this

makes me happy and thrive, and I have applied this to my career. I look forward to expanding

and adapting my leadership philosophy over the years, as I know I will gain more insight and

more experience on becoming a successful leader.

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References

Duemer, L. S. (2016). A History of Transactional Leadership in Academe: A Cautionary Tale.

Journal of Philosophy & History Education.

Mora, C. (2012). Transformational Leadership in Education: Concept Analysis. Transylvanian

Review of Administrative Sciences, 184-192.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.

Polatcan, M. (2020). The Effect of Servant Leaderhip on Teacher Alienation: The Mediating

Role of Supportive School Culture. International Online Jeournal of Educational

Sciences, 57-67.