No Other Way
The very nature of an educational setting requires the inherent practice of Transformational Servant Leadership (TSL) tenets delineated in Imbenzi, Page, and Willaume’s (2013) leadership monograph (paras. 20-32). Since education requires a people-centered focus and TSL focuses on being “committed to helping each person grow personally and professionally” (Northouse, 2013, p. 222), it seems there is no alternative to educational leadership than the TSL way. The top four features of TSL leader critical to empowering everyone in an educational organization (Northouse, pp. 221-223):
1) Listening
2) Empathy
3) Commitment to the growth of the people
4) Building community.
TSL Meets the Education Demands
Students
In a TSL led school, both the leader and the follower will be transformed through the practice of decision making that adheres to serving others. Practicing TSL in the classroom changes the traditional structure of authority to one where the teacher focuses on instilling life-long skills, attitudes, and understandings that transcend the classroom (Imbenzi et al., 2013, para. 43). TSL is a timely and necessary element in our BC classrooms since the provincial mandate includes the requirement to prepare students to be successful in a future that is “different from the one we envisioned even 10 or 15 years ago” (BC Curriculum, 2018). This need transcends the system of education in any country and can only be truly filled through the TSL path which prepares people to face challenges, develop consistent flexibility, and continually build strong relationships through mutual trust, respect, and reliability.
Staff
An educational setting must also meet the needs of the staff who work there to equip them to build up the students. The staff – teachers, EAs, custodians, itinerant support staff, administration – cannot adequately meet the current diverse demands of the student population without feeling supported and cared for themselves.
1) TSL leaders ensure there is adequate self-care measures and reminders to mitigate the constant outpouring of energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Without restoration through a caring work environment, people succumb to the stress and discouragement, disillusionment, and burnout (Northouse, 2013, p. 222).
2) TSL leaders focus on caring for their staff and are aware of individual personal needs. They pay specific attention to how people are valued and empowered (Imbenzi et al., 2013, para. 2).
3) TSL leaders assist their followers to develop their own skills and abilities for more effective participation in the organization’s purpose of educating students.
4) TSL leaders find ways to access appropriate resources to enhance their followers’ ability to meet the mission, vision, and values (MVV) of any school site (Northouse, 2013, p. 228).
STRATEGIC SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Consistent decision-making which maintains the focus on the learning institution’s MVV allows for the TSL leader to consider individuality for the followers within the commonly understood context of the school’s mandate. A servant leader is not someone who is weak and unable to lead others in a common direction. To the contrary, a servant leader must be so strong in character and purposeful in vision that they are able to consistently and reliably lead others through changing circumstances, fostering trust and respect among all the followers.
Personal Leadership Considerations
Ephesians 4 speaks to the task of leaders—more specifically teachers—in preparing people to serve so that everyone is built up. The leaders cannot be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men” (Eph. 4:14, NIV). TSL leaders act in the full knowledge of their strengths as well as their limitations to develop other people first (Northouse, 2013, p. 219).
Visioning
This strategic competency (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014, p. 75) is necessary to lead the school or district to where it needs to go for the successful enhancement of all its participants. Parents, students, staff, administrators, school boards, and trustees need to know that leadership is heading in the right direction and is doing so on budget. Servant leaders make all decisions in congruency with the MVV and to empower others to also see their place in the vision (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 77). “Crafting a realistic vision and gaining employee buy-in” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 6) is a necessary part to close the gap between what the followers know they should do and what they are able to do.
Reframing
Using the ability to see things differently, servant leaders can reframe decisions to include the diversity of ideas among their staff rather than exclude individual perspectives (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 83). When there are so many educated people in varying stages of professional development with personal pedagogical mindsets, framing the potential of situations and necessary decisions as positive possibilities has a powerful effect on staff cohesiveness.
CRITICAL THINKING AS A TSL LEADER
If critical thinking involves data collection, analysis, reasoned arguments, and relevant application (Atha, 2018, para. 2) then a TSL leader must use critical analysis in their key decisions. Critical thinking must be clear and devoid of personal influence to ensure decisions are collectively beneficial. Is it even possible to be a transformational leader without critical analysis?
Jesus presented a clear example of servant leadership that transformed lives through clear rational, open-minded thought that was also fully in line with His God-assigned mission here on earth (John 6:38). He did not veer from this mission but maintained a consistent delivery in word and in deed regardless of who he was interacting with as he travelled with and taught his disciples. He knew his purpose and served others with humility, caring, and singular focus.
TSL leaders must bring a similar mindset to their workplace. Singular focus while maintaining both the soft side and the hard side of strategic, critical thinking (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 62). The traits of critical thinking which include humility, perseverance, and responsibility provide the TSL school leader with the stability required to lead well. There are so many changes that occur each day when serving others in a school. Knowing that leadership has clarity of vision and consistently applies the rigour of critical thinking to important decisions creates an environment of trust and reduces anxiety.
The transformational servant leadership model is necessary in our schools and in all levels of educational administration. We are in the business of building people up to reach their own personal potential and we need consistent focus on well-reasoned and data-supported goals that have enduring qualities. There is no other way to fully meet our educational mandate for producing students who can face the increasing demands of the 21st century world that is changing faster than we can react. Serving others through leadership builds capacity in everyone.
References
Atha, D. (2018). Learning activity 0.2: Critical thinking. Course Learning Notes. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs501/activity-0-2/
BC Curriculum. (2018). Path to Graduation. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/graduation
Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Imbenzi, G., Page, D., & Williaume, D. (2013). Transformational servant leadership. Unpublished manuscript, Master of Arts in Leadership. Trinity Western University: Langley, Canada.
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Northhouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. (6th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Excellent lead post Sally!
Great work in substantive material related to yoru experience. The succinct language flows easily though your descriptors of the concepts and the citations are excellent representation of your material.
Well done!
Doug
Thank you, Doug, for your generous comments. I am finding the material so rich and dense with perspective-refining insights that it is really quite difficult to encapsulate a few thoughts to share coherently.
Sally
Hi Sally,
Thank you for your succinct thoughts on The Transformational Servant Leader (TSL). As you stated, “education requires a people-centered focus.” And TSL focuses on being “committed to helping each person grow personally and professionally.” Might I add, each person has the potential to grow personally and professionally, ‘if they are willing.’
While I have had keen and eager students who are very present and soak up all they are taught, I have also had the extreme opposite learners who are ‘just not there yet.’ These two types of diverse groups of students grace the classes of all educators and it is up to us to learn how to meet each of their needs.
You mentioned how TSL is “timely and a necessary element in our BC classrooms.” I agree that it is necessary for students to have better role models especially in a day and age where role models are fleeting. In our over-the-top busy world, where to financially sustain oneself ( here in BC) most parents are forced to work, leaving students to fend for themselves. A lack of parents at home and the increase of blended families necessitates that students find quality mentorships from their school teacher’s and in their extracurricular activities. You also pointed out how “the provincial mandate includes the requirement to prepare students to be successful in a future that is “different from the one we envisioned even 10 or 15 years ago.”
Do you think TSL is more prevalent now than it was in the past? Scholars Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead and Boschee (2016) assert “there is an undeviating relationship between curriculum of the past and curriculum today” (p.42). They go on to explain how “educational trends come about because of societal changes” and ultimately what goes around comes around (p.42). TSL leadership has been practiced for generations. What appears to be new and trendy is that there is more literature, journal reviews and books being written on the subject than in the past.
Like yourself, I too, see the value in leadership that hones a TSL attitude. It certainly is easier for followers to see TSL lived out in daily life. I was so fortunate to have experienced this during my practicum. I believe my School Associate (SA)’s TSL capabilities were bar none. He most definitely exemplified what it is to be a bonafide Transformational Servant Leader.
What is your experience with teacher training? Could you see university teacher programs incorporate TSL values and help coach new teachers to live this out? I wonder if it would be helpful for university education departments to screen their future pre-service teachers to ensure that they have a teachable spirit for servant leadership before accepting them into their programs. What are your thoughts on this?
In your opinion, is it possible to be a transformational servant leader without help from the Holy Spirit?
I like your closing thoughts which state “we are in the business of building people up to reach their own personal potential” and “serving others through leadership builds capacity in everyone.” Thank you for sharing your thoughts on TSL!
Seabreeze
Thank you for responding to our ET1-MSSL post, Sea Breeze!
Your observation and addition of the qualifier “if they are willing” in light of personal and professional growth is a critical key point, isn’t it? There is so much available in education and we all participate in professional development regularly but the changes in actual practice are not always immediately evident. The students we have in our classroom are the perfect representative cross-section of society; it stands to reason the same diversification of engagement in class will be working professionals. Motivating adults to move in a particular direction—often not of their own choosing—is more challenging than students in our classes.
How do you motivate your reluctant-learner students? Would those same strategies work with adults? The theory of TSL which is very practical and necessary for me seems to still require specific strategies for each element which are effective in a variety of work environments. Listening, for instance, is difficult to do for students in the middle of a class session so arrangements must be made for appropriate times to listen and empathise with our students. Listening to colleagues is more natural since we cross paths when we are NOT in class with kids.
You asked if “TSL is more prevalent now than it was in the past” and, in my opinion, I don’t think it is. However, the need for direct teaching of TSL is more necessary than ever since Biblical principles are not as widely taught or practiced consistently as in simpler times. Your reference to the changes in home lives, the demands of our fast-paced and costly life-styles, and the reduction of commonly accepted societal norms has created a glaring need for the more relational, people-first mindset of TSL leaders.
The word “enduring” reverberates continuously as I contemplate this course’s materials (Hughes et al, 2014). Which leadership elements will transcend revolving trends and remain foundational in any leadership role? While I don’t think TSL screening is necessary for pre-service teachers, modeling the personal investment of building up others in every circumstance would be a gamechanger in many of our schools. As Jesus told his disciples, “The counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and make you remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). I think the further away TSL elements are from our natural character, the more assistance we will need to change our practice and adopt new ways: what we think we will say; what we say we will do; what we do becomes our behaviour and our behaviour shapes our character. We will need the Holy spirit to be mindful of our thoughts and make more direct decisions toward TSL practices.
Thank you for your pointed questions!
Sally
Hi Sally,
I just realized I forgot to add this reference to my reply post. Here it is.
Glatthorn, A., Boschee, F., Whitehead, B., & Boschee, B. (2015). Curriculum leadership:
Strategies for development and implementation. Los Angeles, CA: Sage
My Response
https://create.twu.ca/robtegelberg/2018/10/12/response-to-sallys-post/