Type in ‘What makes an effective leader/manager?’ into any search engine, and instantly thousands of definitions appear. The terms are frequently used, but rarely defined consistently. The National College of School Leadership define them separately stating that ‘Leadership is about having vision and articulating, ordering priorities, getting others to go with you, constantly reviewing what you are doing and holding on to things you value. Management is about the functions, procedures and systems by which you realise the vision.’ In their discussion paper ‘Transforming School: a discussion paper’(March 2007), Estyn states that ‘The most significant features of good leadership are a strong sense of direction, a clear focus on teaching and learning and a relentless emphasis on raising standards’. Interestingly, they don’t define management at all. Northouse P (2004) identifies four common themes in leadership. These are; that ‘leadership is a process, it involves influence, it occurs in a group context and it involves the achievement of goals’.
There is an overlap between Northouse’s common themes and the ideas of many others including Grint’s (1997) ideas of four ‘problems’ (process, position, philosophy and purity) and Blanchard and Hersey’s ‘Situational Leadership’. In recent years, Leadership has begun to be aligned with business and management theories and models. This has led some to question the differences between leadership and management. In his book ‘The new meaning of educational change’, Fullan (1991) states that leadership is related to ‘mission, direction and inspiration’ whereas management is related to ‘designing and implementing plans, working effectively with people and getting things done’. In his book ‘Managing on the Edge, Pascale R (1990) states that ‘Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing’.
The Essay on Leadership Management Styles Of The Presidential Candidates
Leadership/ Management Styles of the Presidential Candidates It is quite possible to define what America is going to turn into, as a country, after Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama or John McCain take Presidential office, by simply examining management styles, associated with their political campaigns, and by analyzing their visions of what the concept of leadership stands for. Let us begin with ...
Despite the appeal of a distinction between leadership and management, there is doubt as to whether the two can be distinguished in practice. Gosling and Murphy (2004) cite the need for a leader to have consistency, predictability and a sense of continuity – things normally associated with management – suggesting an overlap between the two. An individual must have the ability to progress from a ‘management’ role to a ‘leadership’ role whilst being the same person, which leads to Mintzberg (1975) suggesting the idea that ‘it may be more useful to conceive of leadership as one of the roles a manager undertakes, than as something separate and apart.’
Relationship Between Leadership and School Improvement
Busher H and Harris A (2000) state that ‘research findings…have revealed the powerful impact of leadership on processes related to school effectiveness and improvement’. The TTA states in its National Standards for Subject Leaders (1998) that the core purpose of the subject leader is ‘to provide professional leadership and management for a subject to secure high quality teaching, effective use of resources and improved standards of learning and achievement for all pupils.’ Pupil achievement is always a key consideration for any teacher and Field et al (2000) acknowledge this stating that ‘effective leadership will have a crucial effect on pupil achievement.’
The subject leader has a central role in promoting high standards within schools, and the importance of this leadership role is recognised by the significance placed on it during inspections. Key Questions 5; ‘How effective are leadership and strategic management?’, 6; ‘How well do leaders and managers evaluate and improve quality and standards?’ and 7; ‘How efficient are leaders and managers in using resources?’, concentrate wholly on leadership and management in a school and the direct effect their actions have on pupil achievement and progress. It is crucial therefore, as a subject leader to remember that ‘subject leaders can make a difference to subject area performance in much the same way as head-teachers contribute to overall school performance’ Busher H and Harris A (2000).
The Term Paper on Web Accessed Leadership Leaders Management
1. INTRODUCTION Warren Bennis in 1985 in partnership with Burt Nanus wrote a book called! SSLeaders!" . Six statements evolved about leadership and have since been subject to much debate. These statements are mythical and are: "X Leadership is a rare skill "X Leaders are born, not made "X Leaders are charismatic "X Leadership exists only at the top of the organisation "X The Leader Controls, ...
Characteristics of Effective Leadership
Looking back throughout history, the characteristics of an effective leader are defined through the actions and thoughts of so many. Going back to ancient Greece, Xenophen, a philosopher and soldier, gave a list of qualities required to be a General – a Leader. These included: temperance, justice, sagacity, amiability, presence of mind, tactfulness, humanity, sympathy, helpfulness, courage, magnanimity, generosity and helpfulness. Indeed, General Bernard Montgomery – a successful British General during the Second World War often quoted the qualities that the Greek philosopher Aristotle regarded as being important for leaders. These included justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. In the course of his research, psychologist Daniel Goleman developed these ideas further still and discovered that effective leaders are alike in one crucial way; ‘they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence.’
He believes that the essential ingredient for leadership is Emotional Intelligence, and this includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill. In the Bible, Jesus says ’Let the Greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves.’ On a similar line, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is quoted to have said ‘I must follow the people. Am I not their Leader?’ A common thread appears in the ideas of so many leaders through out history; that leadership is not about controlling people, but about inspiring them sufficiently to make them want to follow you. General William Slim, a British Military Commander who served in both the First and Second Wold Wars said ‘The real test of leadership is not if your men will follow you in success, but if they will stick by you in hardship and defeat.’
Leadership Styles and their Impact
In order for those men to ‘stick by you in hardship and defeat’, an effective leader must surely need to have a successful leadership style, appropriate for what is happening and for the tasks or processes that are taking place. To qualify this, many ‘leadership styles’ have been developed. Hay Mcber (2000), a management consultancy, reveals six leadership styles: visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and commanding. Goleman et al (2002) investigated these leadership styles, and concluded that the first four were associated with a positive effect on performance than the others. They also concluded that leaders had to be good at all four styles, drawing on them as needed according to personalities and situations.
The Essay on Leadership Leader Style Group
First off every manager should know that being a manager does not automatically make you a leader. "Managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right thing." (Handy 1993) The position of a leader can be developed in four main theories. The first being the traits that an individual has this theory is based on the belief that people are born with essentially a ...
They also discovered that pace-setting and commanding leaders might have a short-term positive impact under certain conditions, but sooner or later fail because they de-motivate people. It is therefore, important as a subject leader to be aware of the way we lead, adapting the style depending upon the particular incident or situation. Field et al (2000) state that ‘a wide repertoire of styles permits the leader to make quick decisions when necessary, to consult as appropriate and generally to act according to the situation and conditions at the time’. It is therefore clear that a leader who can adapt their leadership style to suit the situation is going to be a lot more successful than one who sticks to the same inflexible, de-motivational style.
National College of School Leadership. Effective School Leadership. Cited from: http://forms.ncsl.org.uk/media/603/D7/effective-school-leadership-contributions-of-school-effectiveness-research.pdf
Estyn. Transforming Schools: a discussion paper. March 2007. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales. (pp30.)
Goleman D. Emotional Intelligence. 1995. Bantam Books. (Building Emotionally Intelligent Organisations pp 327-332.)
The Holy Bible. New Testament. Luke 22: 21-30. Oxford University Press.
The Essay on Analytical Processes For School Leaders
Rationalism refers to a belief that opinions should be centered on reason and knowledge, rather than on religious belief or emotional situation. Rationalism considers reason as the main source and test of knowledge. Rationalists assert that truths exist which the intellect can capture directly, and reality itself has an inherent logical structure. According to rationalists, there are principles, ...
Northouse P. 2004. Leadership: Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publications Ltd. pp19-37.
Grint K. 1997. Leadership: Classical, Contemporary and Critical Approaches. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
Blanchard K, Hersey P. 1968. Situational Leadership. Cited from http://www.12manage.com/methods_blanchard_situational_leadership.html
Fullen M. 1991. The New Meaning of Educational Change. London: Cassell.
Gosling J, Murphy A. 2004. Leading Continuity. Exeter: Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter.
Mintzberg H. 1976. The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact. Harvard Business
Review. 55(4): 49-61.
TTA. 1998. National Standards for Subject Leaders. London: TTA.
Busher H and Harris A. 2000. Subject Leadership and School Improvement. London: PCP. pp183-196.
Hay Management Consultants. 2000. The Lessons of Leadership. London: Author.
Goleman D, Boyatzis R and McKee A. 2002. Primal Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Review.
Field K, Holden P and Lawler H. 2000. Effective Subject Leadership. London: Routledge. pp 221.
