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There are many people who come to mind who exude transformational leadership qualities. Individuals like Winston Churchill who through his clear vision and his famous speech entitled “We Shall Never Surrender” (video clip of speech here) brought a country together to inspire people to accomplish more than they originally thought possible.

Bill Gates courtesy of twitter.com

Bill Gates, Microsoft inventor, who not only created opportunities for his employees to be innovative and grow, he also built trust with his followers and modelled philanthropy through the creation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

I cannot even begin to compare to the individuals listed above and their accomplishments, however, on a much smaller scale, the chapter on Transformational Leadership (Northouse, 2019), is essentially describing my vocation. Transformational leaders “may be especially effective in environments where followers need to focus on learning, development, and mastering job related tasks” (Northouse, p.173).

I would like to share the following examples that I incorporate into my teaching practice as a transformational leader.

Teaching and the 4 I’s  & Kouzes and Posner’s Five Fundamental Practices as referred to by Northouse (2019, pp 169-171 and pp 176-177):

Idealized Influence:  As a teacher, I try really hard to act as a “strong role model” for students and to ensure that my students know that I have “high standards of moral and ethical conduct and can be counted on to do the right thing”(Northouse, p.169). It is important for my students to understand the difference between right and wrong and to learn how to act accordingly. Mulla and Krishnan in their 2011 article “Transformational Leadership: Do the Morals Matter and Do the Follower’s Moral’s Change?” addressed this by stating that there are 4 parts to moral development. Moral sensitivity (knowing what the moral issue is), moral judgement (developing a plan to deal with the issue), moral motivation (the pros and cons of each plan and knowing which plan to pursue), moral character implementation (following through with the plan of action).   I also know that genuine respect is earned with students, and I do my best to gain their trust. This trust and respect is a two way street. It is important to recognize that transformational leadership is dually shared by both leader and follower. “Transformational leadership is not the sole responsibility of a leader, but rather emerges from the interplay between leaders and followers” (Northouse, p.179).

Inspirational Motivation/Model the Way/Inspire a Shared Vision: I have high expectations for all of my students and communicate this clearly, failure is not an option.  Transformational leadership “moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them” (Northouse, p. 172). This applies personally,  socially and academically. I provide my students with a clear vision of the future state of our classroom. Sharing this vision really is “simple, understandable, beneficial and energy creating” (p.175). Students genuinely support the vision because it helps them feel empowered “because they feel they are a significant dimension of a worthwhile enterprise” (Bennis & Nanus, 2007, pp. 90-91).  I tell my students that we are like a family when we are together and because of that, we need to look out for each other and for those who we might not know yet but who attend our school.  Students really do become “motivated to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group” (Northouse, p. 172).

Intellectual Stimulation/Challenge The Process: As part of the curriculum expectations, I try to provide opportunities for students to be “creative, innovative and to challenge their own beliefs and values” (Northouse, p.171). It is essential that I promote both critical and creative thinking skills so that students can learn how to think for themselves and be successful problem solvers.  We want our students to be “willing to innovate, grow, and improve” and “to take risks and learn from their mistakes to make things better”. (Northouse, p. 176). One way in particular that teachers have the biggest impact on their students is when they provide real life, authentic challenges. Students accomplish more and are intrinsically motivated when they find meaning in their work. Mohammed, Fernado, & Caputi, 2013 as quoted by Northouse (2019) state, “Transformational leaders are most likely to have a positive impact on followers when followers identify with or find meaning in their work” (p.172).

Individualized Consideration/Enable Others to Act/Encourage the Heart: I provide a “supportive climate” and “listen carefully” to the needs of my students (Northouse, p.171). I am not just an academic teacher, I also take on the role of life advisor, coach, cheerleader or counsellor depending upon the need. I “build trust with others and promote collaboration,” as well as “listen closely to diverse points of view, treating others with dignity and respect” (Northouse, p.177).  According to Mulla and Krishnan (2011), “empathy is critical to leaders in understanding the needs of followers” (p.131).  My role doesn’t end after my lesson is taught, but rather, I spend time “treating each student in a caring and unique way” as I try to assist my students in becoming “fully actualized” (Northouse, p.171).  To some students, I give “strong affiliation” as they are self-starters, to others, I may give “specific directives with a high degree of structure” (p.171).  As a transformational leader, I try to “create an environment where people can feel good about their work and how it contributes to the greater community” (p.177).  I provide “praise for jobs well done” and am very “attentive to this need” through the use of “authentic celebrations” to “show appreciation and encouragement to others” (p.177).

In summary, transformational leadership focuses on inspiring followers to “accomplish great things by focusing on building trust, understanding and adapting to the needs and motives of followers” (Northouse, p.192). Smith, Montagno and Kuzmenko  in their article “Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons” (2004), sum up transformational leadership as “when a leader inspires followers to share a vision, empowering them to achieve the vision, and provides the resource necessary for developing their personal potential” (p.80).   This is definitely the role of an educator; to build trust, to model and help develop moral values, to listen and be empathetic, to adapt to the needs of the students and to empower them by providing them with the resources necessary to achieve more than they ever thought possible!

On a side note, do you think that the MLQ questionnaire alone is a valid and reliable indicator of effective Transformational Leadership?  What are your thoughts on this?

 

References:

Mulla, Z.R. and Krishnan, V.R. (2011). Transformational leadership: Do the leader’s morals matter and do the follower’s morals change? Journal of Human Values 17(2), 129-143

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 971452203409

Smith, B.N., Montagno, R.V. and Kuzmenko, T.N. (2004). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 10(4), 80-92