Studying my own leadership!
What is the importance of theory and scholarship underpinning leadership practice?
This is the question that begins this unit and has caused me to pause and think once again about my own leadership underpinnings. I begin with the reminder from Uhi- Bein, Riggio, Lowe & Carsten (2014) which reminds me that “there is no leadership without followers” (p. 83). So how do we enable those that we lead to follow? As I went through the article I could see myself in many of the examples that were discussed. I at times do use the Contingency approach by involving “followers in the decision-making process, but only under specific circumstances” (p. 86). As the principal of the school, I cannot have my staff decide if we are going to follow a division policy, but I can, and I do engage their help in deciding how we are to meet the goals of the policy or initiative set out by the department. Then I also feel I am a transformational leader. I know I work with my teachers to achieve a goal. I try very hard to focus on their needs to give them the tools they require to meet their goals.
I also found the concept of social identity to be so valuable. “When an individual strongly identifies with a group, or has a strong desire to be accepted, conformance to group prototypes rises in an increase to self-evaluation favourability” (Uhi-Bein, et.al., 2014. p. 87). I know I want everyone to feel that they belong. This comes from my first years as a teacher where I did not feel supported or feel like I belonged. My opinion did not matter. I had an autocratic principal whom everyone feared. I know that because of him I contemplated whether I wanted to teach, wanted to be in that environment, and could lead. Ensuring that others feel comfortable, that their ideas are listened to and taken into consideration is imperative to me as I do not want to leave a legacy of the fear I experienced.
I was also drawn to the idea of Leader-Membership exchange (LMX). It also re-iterates the idea that relationships are important and that leaders inspire others. “LMX theory predicts that effective leadership requires leaders to develop high quality LMX relationships with their subordinates because these relationships should enhance subordinate well-being and work performance” (Hogg, Martin, Epitropaki, Mankad, Svensson, & Weeden, 2005. p. 992). I do genuinely care about my employees. I want them to be the best they can be because our students depend on them.
As I am still confused about my own leadership style, I chose to self-assess. Just like those who decide to use the internet to find out what ailments they have on Dr. MD, I too looked at random leadership quizzes. No help! One site (leadership iq) said I was the diplomatic leader. I really loved that the results also gave famous diplomatic leaders and that the most famous was Gandhi. I am far from this! However, I do agree I have some diplomatic leadership characteristics. The Leadership Legacy claimed I was an Ambassador and a People Mover. I also like these descriptors of myself! However, what I did learn, it that I do have many favourable leadership traits.
When I went to Mind Tools website, I was called a Democratic Leader or Participative Leader wanting others to feel engaged and valued. Each of the three surveys did tell me what I do believe and that is that I put people first and do try to create inclusivity. However, there are times when I need to make authoritative decisions and I recognize I truly dislike doing them.
So if you are to ask me what my leadership style is, I think I am still a variety of leaders. I am the leader I need to be in different situations. I hope my followers find me to be consistent, approachable and honest. I am transparent when I can be, and I am professional. Can I improve? Absolutely. I need to because education continues to improve and change. I must not be stagnant. Challenge accepted!
Hogg, M. A., Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Mankad, A., Svensson, A. & Weeden, K. (2005). Effective leadership in salient groups: Revisiting leader-member exchange theory from the perspective of the social identity theory of leadership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(7), 991-1004.
Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R. E., Lowe, K. B., & Carsten, M. K. (2014). Followership theory: A review and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83-104.
https://www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/tagged/quizzes