Topic 5: Promoting and Protecting the Self-Efficacy of all School Stakeholders

Benchmark: Leadership Style and Philosophy

Keisha Thompson
Grand Canyon University
EAD 501: Educational Administration: Foundations for the Developing Leader
Instructor: Dr. J. Martin
May 24, 2023
Benchmark: Leadership Style and Philosophy

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the word "leadership" is a person who

is in control of an organization and has the authority to direct others. It is not only intended to tell

someone else what to do from a negative perspective; leadership also entails many other

activities and responsibilities. According to the definition given in the book Leadership: Practice

and Theory (Northouse, 2021), “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a

group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” You must gain a thorough awareness of the

leadership styles that are prevalent in many organizations today if you want to be successful in

leadership.

I'll talk about the three main leadership styles: transactional, transformational, and servant

leadership, the value of developing a leadership philosophy, and how doing so can help me

become a better leader. The most prevalent style of leadership today is transactional leadership.

According to Northouse (2021), this style of leadership emphasizes the interactions between

leaders and their followers. This leadership style pertains to how I connect with my pupils in the

classroom as a teacher. The pupils are the followers, while the teacher is the authority figure. I

may reward my pupils for good behavior or achieving a passing grade on a test and by doing

this, they are encouraged to perform well. Transactional leaders put emphasis on setting short-

and long-term goals for their team members and expect them to strive toward those goals while

being closely supervised. They also expect everyone to follow the rigid rules that the

organization has established. Cherry (2022) stated that “transactional leadership is a leadership

style that utilizes rewards and punishments to motivate and direct followers.” If an employee

meets their goals, they are rewarded, and if they miss a deadline, they receive a warning.

Northouse (2021) stated, “managers who offer promotions to employees who surpass their goals
are exhibiting transactional leadership.” They do tend to be adept at establishing norms and

guidelines that boost an organization's effectiveness and production.

According to Northouse (2021), “Transformational leadership is concerned with the

process of how certain leaders are able to inspire followers to accomplish great things. This

approach stresses that leaders need to understand and adapt to the needs and motives of

followers.” Individuals that demonstrate transformational leadership frequently possess a strong

internal set of beliefs and principles, and they are proficient at inspiring followers to take actions

that serve the greater good rather than their personal self-interests. Bass and Riggio (2005) in

their article stated, “transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by

responding to individual followers’ needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives

and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization.” Rather

than concentrating primarily on one method of accomplishing a task, transformational leaders

encourage others to consider alternative approaches. This style of leadership gives people greater

freedom to use their imagination to accomplish their objectives.

“Servant leadership emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their

followers, empathize with them, and nurture them” (Northouse, 2021). A servant leader puts the

needs of others before themselves. As stated in Leadership: Theory and Practice, “Servant

leaders put followers first, empower them, and help them develop their full personal capacities.”

(Northouse, 2021). “Servant leaders make it a priority to listen to their followers and develop

strong long-term relationships with them. This allows leaders to understand the abilities, needs

and goals of followers, which in turn, allows these followers to achieve their full potential.”

(Northouse 2021). Dependence on the leader, however, is a risk associated with this style of

leadership. For instance, a follower may grow reliant on the leader to always step in and fill the
gaps as a result of becoming used to the leader doing so. According to Carter (2022), “Servant

Leadership is not a science but an art—one that you get better at with practice.” You must put the

ideas of servant leadership into practice in the real world; you cannot expect to learn them from

reading a book or researching them. The more you do it, the more proficient you will get. You

will eventually develop into a master-servant leader, which has several advantages.

Respect, transparency, and empathy are the personal values and beliefs that guide my

thoughts, decisions, goal-setting, and interactions with others. Respect is my first guiding

principle. No matter what position someone may occupy, I firmly believe that they should be

respected. Integrity and trust go hand in hand with transparency. Sharing information and

objectives in an open and sincere manner is vital to me. lacking any hidden or concealed

objectives. Observing my promise. This fosters connections that are both secure and trustworthy.

By letting myself be transparent, I encourage others to do the same dispelling any

misinformation, fear, and confusion. Empathizing with another person's experience is crucial, to

genuinely acknowledge their feelings on an equal level. Being really supported by someone is

very valuable. Making better decisions for others is made possible through empathy. Before

acting, I always try to place myself in another person's position.

I considered various professions before deciding to pursue a career in education, and I

must admit that throughout the twenty-five years I taught in the classroom, I have dealt with all

the varied leadership styles I have mentioned above. More offensive than others were some types

of leadership. When I eventually rose to a leadership position, I made sure I treated others with

respect, and I will continue to do so as a future leader. I've always had a leadership mentality,

and after seeing a variety of leadership philosophies, I realized that I want to always be

accessible so that people can feel comfortable talking to me about their concerns. Nothing is
worse than a leader who is difficult to get along with. I do think there should be lots of assistance

available in a school environment. It's true what they say: "There is no I in TEAM." I would

always value the opinions of all the teaching staff in promoting the development and

achievement of the students. I place a high value on staff communication in both my personal

and professional life.

The two leadership philosophies that would best describe me out of the three I just

mentioned are servant leadership and transactional leadership. Given that I have the personality

of a servant leader, who constantly puts others before myself, I think those leadership

philosophies are the ones that best suit me. I grew up in a world where being kind was not

necessarily a good thing because people will try to take advantage of you, which I have

experienced as a past leader. Because I'm a motivator, I always give solid advice to my

colleagues, encouraging them to give it all they’ve got. I always provide incentives to my

students in the classroom to motivate them to produce their finest work. When they feel valued,

they give their best effort.

As the future leader of an organization, I will constantly work to treat my personnel fairly

and without showing any prejudice. Everyone will be treated equally, and I promise to be

accessible to my staff, students, and parents, giving them all the information required in

succeeding. I'll do walk-throughs on a weekly/monthly basis and talk to the students and watch

the teachers. All educators require assistance and reassurance, and so I will strive to build solid,

enduring connections with everyone. I'm confident that as I advance in this field, my philosophy

will change. I'm excited to learn new things through this program, so I may develop into the

effective leader I know I will become. I like to learn new things, and I really believe that there is

always room for improvement.

REFERENCES

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2005). Transformational leadership. (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates Publishers. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410617095

Carter, L. Does the Servant Leadership Style Work? https://louiscarter.com/servant-leadership-

style/

Cherry, K. (2022). How a Transactional Leadership Style Works.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-transactional-leadership-2795317

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage

Publications

Metcalf, Thomas. 2018. “Philosophy and Its Contrast with Science.” In Nathan Nobis et al.

(eds.), 1000-Word Philosophy. https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2018/02/13/philosophy-and-its-

contrast-with-science/