Leadership in the Classroom

A classroom is a group of learners. Generally speaking, learning groups have at least two basic objectives:

1. to complete learning tasks; 2. to maintain positive and effective relationships among group members.

Leadership consists of actions that help the group to complete its tasks successfully and maintain effective working relationships among its members. For any group to be successful, both task-leadership actions and group maintenance-leadership actions have to be provided. It is important to note that a) any member of a group may become a leader by taking these necessary actions (i.e., the teacher is not necessarily the leader), and b) the various leadership actions may be provided by different group members (i.e., the teacher may decide to share various aspects of leadership with class members).

Teachers should know that, generally, groups function most effectively when leadership tasks are shared among group members. However, most students are accustomed to being in classes where the teacher plays all of the leadership roles; if you want students to play some of these roles, you must give them permission to do so, and perhaps guidance in how to best take on these roles. When teachers neglect leadership and do not provide leadership themselves or invite students to take on leadership roles, students may themselves elect to play informal (and frequently inappropriate) leadership roles in the classroom, simply to pull the individuals together as a group.

Leadership is a set of skills that anyone can acquire. Responsible leadership depends upon

a. flexible behavior; b. the ability to diagnose what behaviors are needed at a particular time in order for the

group to function most efficiently; and

c. the ability to fulfill these behaviors or to get other members to fulfill them.

To participate effectively in a group, especially in a leadership role, one must be able to:

1. Communicate

Communication is the first step in cooperating with others. There are two basic categories of skills -- sending and receiving. Some essential skills are the ability to:

Clearly and unambiguously communicate ideas and feelings. Make messages complete and specific.

Make verbal and nonverbal messages congruent with each other.

Ask for feedback concerning the way in which your messages are received.

Display openness, and maintain eye contact.

Listen without response until the other person has sent a full message.

Paraphrase accurately and nonevaluatively the essence of the sender's message.

Listen beyond words -- that is to be aware of nonverbal messages and behavior.

Listen for requests and intentions in others' messages, particularly in complaints.

These skills are ones well known to teachers as important classroom skills. They are skills needed by any leader, in any situation.

2. Build and Maintain Trust

Acceptance and support are essential in building and maintaining trust. Acceptance is communicating to others that you have high regard for them. Support is communicating to others that you recognize their strengths and believe they are capable of productively managing their situation.

Underlying all significant learning is the element of trust. Stephen Brookfield (1990) proposes that those playing the role of teacher in a learning group must pay attention to the balance between two important characteristics that make teachers more trustworthy in students' eyes: credibility and authenticity.

3. Manage Conflict

Since participation in a group will inevitably produce some conflicts, it is essential that members of learning groups have the skills required for managing controversies constructively, including the ability to:

Understand the point-of-view of another person in the group. Approach controversy from a problem-solving perspective. First, explore all differences.

Then, look for ways to integrate ideas. Recognize the legitimacy of different ideas and viewpoints and search for a solution that accomodates the needs of all group members.

Be critical of ideas, not persons.

When large societal problems are being played out in the classroom, keep returning to the course "text' whenever possible--how can it help members of the learning group make sense of the conflict they are experiencing?

References:Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (1991). Learning together and alone. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Brookfield, S. (1990). The skillful teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Prepared by: Susan Wilcox, Instructional Development Centre, Queen's University

Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders Cindy Harrison and Joellen Killion

The ways teachers can lead are as varied as teachers themselves.

Teacher leaders assume a wide range of roles to support school and student success. Whether these roles are

assigned formally or shared informally, they build the entire school's capacity to improve. Because teachers can lead

in a variety of ways, many teachers can serve as leaders among their peers.

So what are some of the leadership options available to teachers? The following 10 roles are a sampling of the many

ways teachers can contribute to their schools' success.

1. Resource Provider

Teachers help their colleagues by sharing instructional resources. These might include Web sites, instructional

materials, readings, or other resources to use with students. They might also share such professional resources as

articles, books, lesson or unit plans, and assessment tools.

Tinisha becomes a resource provider when she offers to help Carissa, a new staff member in her second career, set

up her classroom. Tinisha gives Carissa extra copies of a number line for her students to use, signs to post on the

wall that explain to students how to get help when the teacher is busy, and the grade-level language arts pacing

guide.

2. Instructional Specialist

An instructional specialist helps colleagues implement effective teaching strategies. This help might include ideas for

differentiating instruction or planning lessons in partnership with fellow teachers. Instructional specialists might study

research-based classroom strategies (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001); explore which instructional

methodologies are appropriate for the school; and share findings with colleagues.

When his fellow science teachers share their frustration with students' poorly written lab reports, Jamal suggests that

they invite several English teachers to recommend strategies for writing instruction. With two English teachers serving

as instructional specialists, the science teachers examine a number of lab reports together and identify strengths and

weaknesses. The English teachers share strategies they use in their classes to improve students' writing.

3. Curriculum Specialist

Understanding content standards, how various components of the curriculum link together, and how to use the

curriculum in planning instruction and assessment is essential to ensuring consistent curriculum implementation

throughout a school. Curriculum specialists lead teachers to agree on standards, follow the adopted curriculum, use

common pacing charts, and develop shared assessments.

Tracy, the world studies team leader, works with the five language arts and five social studies teachers in her school.

Using standards in English and social studies as their guides, the team members agree to increase the consistency in

their classroom curriculums and administer common assessments. Tracy suggests that the team develop a common

understanding of the standards and agrees to facilitate the development and analysis of common quarterly

assessments.

4. Classroom Supporter

Classroom supporters work inside classrooms to help teachers implement new ideas, often by demonstrating a

lesson, coteaching, or observing and giving feedback. Blase and Blase (2006) found that consultation with peers

enhanced teachers' self-efficacy (teachers' belief in their own abilities and capacity to successfully solve teaching and learning problems) as they reflected on practice and grew together, and it also encouraged a bias for action (improvement through collaboration) on the part of teachers. (p. 22)

Marcia asks Yolanda for classroom support in implementing nonlinguistic representation strategies, such as graphic

organizers, manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities (Marzano et al., 2001). Yolanda agrees to plan and teach a

lesson with Marcia that integrates several relevant strategies. They ask the principal for two half-days of professional

release time, one for learning more about the strategy and planning a lesson together, and the other for coteaching

the lesson to Marcia's students and discussing it afterward.

5. Learning Facilitator

Facilitating professional learning opportunities among staff members is another role for teacher leaders. When

teachers learn with and from one another, they can focus on what most directly improves student learning. Their

professional learning becomes more relevant, focused on teachers' classroom work, and aligned to fill gaps in

student learning. Such communities of learning can break the norms of isolation present in many schools.

Frank facilitates the school's professional development committee and serves as the committee's language arts

representative. Together, teachers plan the year's professional development program using a backmapping model

(Killion, 2001). This model begins with identifying student learning needs, teachers' current level of knowledge and

skills in the target areas, and types of learning opportunities that different groups of teachers need. The committee

can then develop and implement a professional development plan on the basis of their findings.

6. Mentor

Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for teacher leaders. Mentors serve as role models;

acclimate new teachers to a new school; and advise new teachers about instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices,

and politics. Being a mentor takes a great deal of time and expertise and makes a significant contribution to the

development of a new professional.

Ming is a successful teacher in her own 1st grade classroom, but she has not assumed a leadership role in the

school. The principal asks her to mentor her new teammate, a brand-new teacher and a recent immigrant from the

Philippines. Ming prepares by participating in the district's three-day training on mentoring. Her role as a mentor will

not only include helping her teammate negotiate the district, school, and classroom, but will also include acclimating

her colleague to the community. Ming feels proud as she watches her teammate develop into an accomplished

teacher.

7. School Leader

Being a school leader means serving on a committee, such as a school improvement team; acting as a grade-level or

department chair; supporting school initiatives; or representing the school on community or district task forces or

committees. A school leader shares the vision of the school, aligns his or her professional goals with those of the

school and district, and shares responsibility for the success of the school as a whole.

Joshua, staff sponsor of the student council, offers to help the principal engage students in the school improvement

planning process. The school improvement team plans to revise its nearly 10-year-old vision and wants to ensure that

students' voices are included in the process. Joshua arranges a daylong meeting for 10 staff members and 10

students who represent various views of the school experience, from nonattenders to grade-level presidents. Joshua

works with the school improvement team facilitator to ensure that the activities planned for the meeting are

appropriate for students so that students will actively participate.

8. Data Coach

Although teachers have access to a great deal of data, they do not often use that data to drive classroom instruction.

Teacher leaders can lead conversations that engage their peers in analyzing and using this information to strengthen

instruction.

Carol, the 10th grade language arts team leader, facilitates a team of her colleagues as they look at the results of the

most recent writing sample, a teacher-designed assessment given to all incoming 10th grade students. Carol guides

teachers as they discuss strengths and weaknesses of students' writing performance as a group, as individuals, by

classrooms, and in disaggregated clusters by race, gender, and previous school. They then plan instruction on the

basis of this data.

9. Catalyst for Change

Teacher leaders can also be catalysts for change, visionaries who are “never content with the status quo but rather

always looking for a better way” (Larner, 2004, p. 32). Teachers who take on the catalyst role feel secure in their own

work and have a strong commitment to continual improvement. They pose questions to generate analysis of student

learning.

In a faculty meeting, Larry expresses a concern that teachers may be treating some students differently from others.

Students who come to him for extra assistance have shared their perspectives, and Larry wants teachers to know

what students are saying. As his colleagues discuss reasons for low student achievement, Larry challenges them to

explore data about the relationship between race and discipline referrals in the school. When teachers begin to point

fingers at students, he encourages them to examine how they can change their instructional practices to improve

student engagement and achievement.

10. Learner

Among the most important roles teacher leaders assume is that of learner. Learners model continual improvement,

demonstrate lifelong learning, and use what they learn to help all students achieve.

Manuela, the school's new bilingual teacher, is a voracious learner. At every team or faculty meeting, she identifies

something new that she is trying in her classroom. Her willingness to explore new strategies is infectious. Other

teachers, encouraged by her willingness to discuss what works and what doesn't, begin to talk about their teaching

and how it influences student learning. Faculty and team meetings become a forum in which teachers learn from one

another. Manuela's commitment to and willingness to talk about learning break down barriers of isolation that existed

among teachers.

Roles for All

Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with

designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers. The variety of

roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they

assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student learning, and influence practice among

their peers

Effective educational change is dependent on the exercise of appropriate leadership roles. These roles are identified and described in varying degrees, extending from the principal as an instructional leader to community leaders as reform advocates. In addition, interest has developed in identifying leadership roles for classroom teachers (Howey, 1988; Devaney, 1987; Liberman, 1988; Little, 1984). Support for teacher leadership is based on a need for "highly competent leaders who reside where the problems primarily are - in schools - and who can address these in a continuing, collective manner" (Howey, 1988, p. 29). The interest in teacher leadership is not new, however. In the Association of Teacher Education Bulletin 37 (Andrew, 1974), this topic is addressed as Teacher Leadership: A Model for Change. Significantly, this document addresses identical issues and describes similar qualities as those under consideration today. Three areas described for teacher leadership are: self-improvement; improvement of others, and initiation of curricular change. Leadership: A Model for Change. Significantly, this document addresses identical issues and describes similar qualities as those under consideration today. Three areas described for teacher leadership are: self-improvement of others, and initiation of curricular change. Leadership qualities are identified as: knowledge of change strategies, knowledge of curriculum alternatives and development process, and skill in group process and decision making. And, as expected, the document focuses on the need to change teacher preparation programs. The renewed interest in teacher leadership is strengthened by teacher education restructuring trends, the New Schools project, creation of Professional Development Schools, and increased emphasis on site-based management require participation by teacher-leaders. Both emerging roles (Liberman & Miller, 1990) and more traditional roles in teacher leadership provide increased opportunities for teacher leaders. Possible leadership roles include but are not limited to:

1. Master teacher. Teaching expertise provides a foundation for other leadership roles. The expert teacher is sought out both by the inexperienced and the ineffective teacher. Skills in communication, change processes, and interpersonal relationships are essential in helping inexperienced and/or less effective teachers. In addition, the master teacher's success in designing and implementing effective teaching/learning strategies can initiate professional growth activities leading to other roles. 2. Curriculum specialist. The content-area teacher can fill a leadership role in the area of curriculum development. A knowledge base enhanced by experience and interest in a curricular

area make the teacher a valuable resource in designing, reviewing, and evaluating curriculum. The content-area specialist (teacher) must be encourage to accept leadership roles in the area of expertise. 3. Mentor. Dodgson (1986) defines mentor as "... trusted and experienced counselor who influences the career development of an associate in a warm, caring, and helping relationship." Increasing emphasis on internships and induction processes place additional importance on the classroom teacher's leadership role in the continuing professional development of novice teachers. Moran (1992) identifies mentoring as the common element in the background of individuals who have risen to leadership positions. An identified knowledge base relative to mentoring continues to expand. 4. Teacher educator. A traditional role of the classroom teacher has been to provide leadership in the professional development of the pre-service teacher. This role has focused on serving as a model in demonstrating skills and dispositions. As a clinical supervisor, the teacher needs to provide feedback to strengthen competencies and to address weaknesses. This role encompasses activities associated with mentoring. Attempt to build collaborative activities between schools and institutions of higher education call for active leadership roles by classroom teachers in identifying issues and recommending changes in teacher education programs. 5. Student advocate. Even though the counselor and other school personnel have been viewed in this role, the classroom teacher has an even more significant role in developing leadership skills that will address issues relating to improving instructional processes, curriculum, and school climate for the benefit of students. The classroom teacher has the most contact and interaction with the student. Initial observations about student achievement, attendance, participation, home life, illness, and needs come from classroom teachers. Most teachers are truly concerned about each student and need to understand how they can provide much needed leadership for addressing student needs. A major indicator of the significance of this role was the adoption of "Education and Human Resources: Putting the Pieces Together" as the theme for the 74th (1994) ATE Annual Meeting. As student advocate, teachers can exercise leadership roles in also addressing issues related to parenting, literacy, job training, and the dysfunctional family.

6. Researcher. This role provides ...

REFERENCES

Blase, J., & Blase, J. (2006). Teachers bringing out the best in teachers: A guide to peer consultation for administrators and teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Killion, J. (2001). What works in elementary schools: Results-based staff development. Oxford, OH: National Staff Development Council.

Larner, M. (2004). Pathways: Charting a course for professional learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

THE ROLE OF A TEACHER AS A LEADER

The teacher's role as a leader is an important part of his or her job. The teacher must know the role that the teacher assistant will take in the classroom. In addition, a good leader will want to establish a rapport with the teacher assistant. This will create a positive classroom environment.

Know the Role of the Teacher Assistant

Never underestimate the abilities of a Teacher Assistant. I had the privilege of working in a daycare for my first teaching experience in the Pre-Kindergarten classroom. I had an awesome Teacher Assistant who did not have any prior teaching experience. She was very eager to learn and I quickly became her mentor. After one year of modeling my technique and observing me, she was promoted to the Lead Teacher of the two-year old class, a position in which she still holds today. I was thrilled for her about the promotion, but sincerely missed all that she contributed to the classroom.

In the past the role of the Teacher Assistant was primarily to perform non-teaching tasks such as making photocopies, escorting students to specials, correcting homework, grading tests or prepping materials for lesson plans and bulletin boards, but this role is changing. The Teacher Aide role now includes teaching small groups in Reading, Writing and Math, one on one instruction to students with special needs, and moderating exams. Some school districts are now requiring an Associate Degree for Teacher Assistants or training and passing a test for Certification. Some of the course content that the Teacher's Aide may receive while earning an Associate Degree is, Growth and Development, Child Guidance, Observation and Evaluation, Family and Community, Childhood Literacy, Math and English. This article is not to suggest that the Teacher Aide no longer support the teacher in his/her non-teaching tasks, but that the Teacher Aide assists more in the teaching of the students than ever before.

Establish a Rapport With the Teacher Assistant

Start the school year off by getting to know the Teacher Assistant assigned to the classroom. Find out his or her classroom experience, strengths, likes, dislikes and talents. So many times I used to hear "break room conversations" that the Teacher Aides do not help in the classroom. It our responsibility as the teacher to make sure that they feel welcome and a part of the classroom and that they know what is expected of them.

Learning about the Teacher Aide's experience and strengths will help you to know what assignments to give him or her. Make sure that the Teacher Aide knows that you are available to answer any questions. This may mean that you, as the teacher, must learn to trust the judgment and ability of the Teacher Aide. Don't miscount life experience. The Teacher Aide may be a grandmother, father... and this life experience may contribute greatly to the students' social behavior.

Summary

In this two part series we have considered the teacher as leader through an example. Let's summarize this role:

The teacher leads by:

Establishing and following routines and schedules Communicating effectively and avoiding idle chatter

Listening to others

Making others feel welcome and giving them a sense of belonging

Leading by example

Appreciating and developing the strengths in other

Transformational Leadership In Everyday Life

Parents. One can argue that parents are transformational leaders within a small group called the family. They have the task of turning an extremely selfish entity called a child into a human being. I had a friend say to me once that children are animals, they must be transformed in human beings by good parents.

Coaches. The transformational task of a coach is dual in nature. First, one must install in players the skills and motivation to keep trying despite many set backs. And in some sports such as basketball and soccer, one takes selfish individuals and turns them into team players.

Religious Leaders. A tougher challenge here. They seek to turn the flawed into the moral and the selfish into the ethical.

Entrepreneurs . Almost all the writing focuses an the managerial side of being an entrepreneur. However, they must must also exhibit transformational leadership or their organizations fail to grow. It is as simple, and as complex, as that.

Most theories of leadership development stress how to be effective within the status quo—what's called transactional leadership. A leader using this style can be very influential, but they change very little. To use a popular expression, these people are good at “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic", but they can’t keep the ship from sinking.

Unfortunately, many organizations run lean on transformational leaders, the vast majority of the leaders inside organizations being transactional. Thus we see organizations decline as there is an increasingly disconnect between “the way things should be done” and “the way we do things here.”

Is Transformational Leadership Always Good?

The first thing to understand about transformational leadership—sometimes these leaders do not always make things better—sometimes they can make things worse. Progress is not assured. (The Economist: The Idea of Progress).

Hitler was an extremely effective, charismatic leader who turned a weak democratic state into a strong totalitarian one. He remained an amazing popular leader who retained power until the very end. Few Germans questioned his

decisions, goals, methods and the vision of a thousand year Reich. However, that vision brought ruin to Germany and much of Europe.

Take the example of , the First Emperor of China. One can argue the end (unifying China) was admirable. However, to achieve that end, the means used by the Emperor was war—wars which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands. (Qin Shi Huang, Wikipedia)

For transformational leaders to always make things better, we would have to assume a set of virtues and an ability to make wise decisions. However, it is often the case that they lack an abundance of both wisdom and virtue (Capital Virtues, Second Exodus)

Often, we think of transformational leadership as as only applying to heads of great nations or hugemonous organizations. Its easy to see Great Men or Great Woman and how they succeeded in overcoming Big Problems. But these are not the only types of transformational individuals.

The Transformational Leadership Style

Transformational leadership is about implementing new ideas; these individuals continually change themselves; they stay flexible and adaptable; and continually improve those around them. Transformational leaders has been written about for thousands of years--being both praised (Christ and Buddha) and cursed (Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan).

The two theorists most associated with its modern incarnation in America are Bass and Burns. In many articles and in his book, Improving Organizational Effectiveness Through Transformational Leadership, Bass talked about the fundamental theoretical qualities that define transformational leadership from it's polar opposite, transactional leadership.

Burns

And before him, James McGregor Burns wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning book titled Leadership. He eloquently described qualities transformational leaders possess in different fields of endeavors ranging from the military, to business, to politics.

Bass

According to Bass, these individuals possess:

Charisma. This is one of those leadership qualities that is hard to define; like beauty, you know it when you experience it. I remember a quote, about a charismatic individual by the name of Oliver North. One of his men once said about him, "I would follow him to hell since he is the only man I know who could get me back."

Vision. This involves the creation of a compelling picture of the future, a desired future state that people identify with. By creating this vision, the leader provides a means for people to develop commitment, a common goal around around which to rally, and a way for people to feel successful. 

Intellectual stimulation. Transformational leaders show new ways of looking at old problems, they challenge the existing boundaries and the mental prisons people put themselves into.

Inspiration.  To inspire is difficult, requiring as as it does a decent understanding of psychology.

To become a great transformational leader, one must build on Four Core Competencies. These are:

Self-Mastery. Often the greatest barrier to success in not others, not the environment, it is ourself.

The Transformational Mind-set. Action is supported by a set of beliefs or one has mindless impulses.

Influence. Mangers rely on authority, leaders rely on influence. Enough said.

Skills Development. Few know how to build a skill, so they waste countless hours in futile effort. One cannot build a skill by reading about it.

Leadership Types

Most common Leadership Types

Autocratic leadership .

Bureaucratic leadership .

Charismatic leadership.

Democratic leadership or participative leadership .

Laissez-faire leadership .

People-oriented leadership or relations-oriented leadership.

Servant leadership.

Task-oriented leadership.

Transactional leadership.

Transformational leadership.

Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where a leader exerts high levels of power over his or her employees or team members. People within the team are given few opportunities for making suggestions, even if these would be in the team's or organization’s interest.

Most people tend to resent being treated like this. Because of this, autocratic leadership usually leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. Also, the team's output does not benefit from the creativity and experience of all team members, so many of the benefits of teamwork are lost.

For some routine and unskilled jobs, however, this style can remain effective where the advantages of control outweigh the disadvantages. Learn more...

Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders work “by the book”, ensuring that their staff follow procedures exactly. This is a very appropriate style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances or at heights) or where large sums of money are involved (such as cash-handling).

In other situations, the inflexibility and high levels of control exerted can demoralize staff, and can diminish the organizations ability to react to changing external circumstances. Learn more...

Charismatic Leadership

A charismatic leadership style can appear similar to a transformational leadership style, in that the leader injects huge doses of enthusiasm into his or her team, and is very energetic in driving others forward.

However, a charismatic leader can tend to believe more in him or herself than in their team. This can create a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might collapse if the leader were to leave: In the eyes of their followers, success is tied up with the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and needs long-term commitment from the leader.

Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership

Although a democratic leader will make the final decision, he or she invites other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only increases job satisfaction by involving employees or team members in what’s going on, but it also helps to develop people’s skills. Employees and team members feel in control of their own destiny, and so are motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward.

As participation takes time, this style can lead to things happening more slowly than an autocratic approach, but often the end result is better. It can be most suitable where team working is essential, and quality is more important than speed to market or productivity. Learn more...

Laissez-Faire Leadership

This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly. Most often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, it can also refer to situations where managers are not exerting sufficient control. Learn more...

People-Oriented Leadership or Relations-Oriented Leadership

This style of leadership is the opposite of task-oriented leadership: the leader is totally focused on organizing, supporting and developing the people in the leader’s team. A

participative style, it tends to lead to good teamwork and creative collaboration. However, taken to extremes, it can lead to failure to achieve the team's goals.

In practice, most leaders use both task-oriented and people-oriented styles of leadership.

Servant Leadership

This term, coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by virtue of meeting the needs of his or her team, he or she is described as a “servant leader”.

In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership, as the whole team tends to be involved in decision-making.

Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest it is an important way ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, in which servant leaders achieve power on the basis of their values and ideals. Others believe that in competitive leadership situations, people practicing servant leadership will often find themselves left behind by leaders using other leadership styles.

Task-Oriented Leadership

A highly task-oriented leader focuses only on getting the job done, and can be quite autocratic. He or she will actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize and monitor. However, as task-oriented leaders spare little thought for the well-being of their teams, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, with difficulties in motivating and retaining staff. Task-oriented leaders can benefit from an understanding of the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid, which can help them identify specific areas for development that will help them involve people more.

Transactional Leadership

This style of leadership starts with the premise that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they take a job on: the “transaction” is (usually) that the organization pays the team members, in return for their effort and compliance. As such, the leader has the right to “punish” team members if their work doesn’t meet the pre-determined standard.

Team members can do little to improve their job satisfaction under transactional leadership. The leader could give team members some control of their income/reward by using incentives that encourage even higher standards or greater productivity. Alternatively a transactional leader could practice “management by exception”, whereby, rather than rewarding better work, he or she would take corrective action if the required standards were not met.

Transactional leadership is really just a way of managing rather a true leadership style, as the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work, but remains a common style in many organizations.

Transformational Leadership

A person with this leadership style is a true leader who inspires his or her team with a shared vision of the future. Transformational leaders are highly visible, and spend a lot of time communicating. They don’t necessarily lead from the front, as they tend to delegate responsibility amongst their teams. While their enthusiasm is often infectious, they can need to be supported by “detail people”.

In many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are needed. The transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while the transformational leaders look after initiatives that add value.

The transformational leadership style is the dominant leadership style taught in the "How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You" leadership program, although we do recommend that other styles are brought as the situation demands.

Using the Right Style – Situational Leadership

While the Transformation Leadership approach is often highly effective, there is no one “right” way to lead or manage that suits all situations. To choose the most effective approach for you, you must consider:

The skill levels and experience of the members of your team. The work involved (routine or new and creative).

The organizational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous).

You own preferred or natural style.

A good leader will find him or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. This is often referred to as “situational leadership”.

For example, the manager of a small factory trains new machine operatives using a bureaucratic style to ensure operatives know the procedures that achieve the right standards of product quality and workplace safety. The same manager may adopt a more participative style of leadership when working on production line improvement with his or her team of supervisors

Three Classic Leadership Styles

One dimension of has to do with control and one's perception of how much control one should give to people. The laissez faire style implies low control, the autocratic style high control and the participative lies somewhere in between.

The Laissez Faire Leadership Style

The style is largely a "hands off" view that tends to minimize the amount of direction and face time required. Works well if you have highly trained and highly motivated direct reports. More info...

The Autocratic Leadership Style

The style has its advocates, but it is falling out of favor in many countries. Some people have argued that the style is popular with today's CEO's, who have much in common with feudal lords in Medieval Europe.

The Participative Leadership Style

It's hard to order and demand someone to be creative, perform as a team, solve complex problems, improve quality, and provide outstanding customer service. The style presents a happy medium between over controlling (micromanaging) and not being engaged and tends to be seen in organizations that must innovate to prosper.

Determining the Best Leadership Style

Situational Leadership. In the 1950s, management theorists from Ohio State University and the University of Michigan published a series of studies to determine whether leaders should be more task or relationship (people) oriented. The importance of the research cannot be over estimated since leaders tend to have a dominant style; a leadership style they use in a wide variety of situations.

Surprisingly, the research discovered that there is no one best style: leaders must adjust their leadership style to the situation as well as to the people being led.

The Emergent Leadership Style

Contrary to the belief of many, groups do not automatically accept a new "boss" as leader. We see a number of ineffective managers who didn't know the behaviors to use when one taking over a new group.

The Transactional Leadership Style

The approach emphasizes getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo; almost in opposition to the goals of the transformational leadership. It's considered to be a "by the book" approach in which the person works within the rules. As such, it's commonly seen in large, bureaucratic organizations.

The Transformational Leadership Style

The primary focus of this leadership style is to make change happen in:

* Our Self,* Others,* Groups, and* Organizations

Charisma is a special leadership style commonly associated with transformational leadership. While extremely powerful, it is extremely hard to teach.

Visionary Leadership

Visionary Leadership, The leadership style focuses on how the leader defines the future for followers and moves them toward it.

From the short review above, one can see that there are many different aspects to being a great leader; a role requiring one to play many different leadership styles to be successful.

Other leadership styles include:

Strategic Leadership

Strategic Leadership is practiced by the military services such as the US Army, US Air Force, and many large corporations. It stresses the competitive nature of running an organization and being able to out fox and out wit the competition.

Team Leadership

Team Leadership. A few years ago, a large corporation decided that supervisors were no longer needed and those in charge were suddenly made "team leaders." Today, companies have gotten smarter about teams, but it still takes leadership to transition a group into a team.

Facilitative Leadership

Facilitative Leadership. This is a special style that anyone who runs a meeting can employ. Rather than being directive, one uses a number of indirect communication patterns to help the group reach consensus.

Leadership Influence Styles

Leadership Influence Styles. Here one looks at the behaviors associated how one exercises influence. For example, does the person mostly punish? Do they know how to reward?

Cross-Cultural Leadership

Cross-Cultural Leadership. Not all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected in a different culture; whether that culture is organizational or national.

Coaching

Coaching. A great coach is definitely a leader who also possess a unique gift--the ability to teach and train.

Level 5 Leadership.

Level 5 Leadership. This term was coined by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great: Why Some Company’s Make the Leap and Other Don’t. As Collins says in his book, "We were surprised, shocked really, to discover the types of leadership required for turning a good company into a great one."

Servant Leadership.

Servant Leadership. Some leaders have put the needs of their followers first. For example, the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department, "To Protect and Serve." reflects this philosophy of service. One suspects these leaders are rare in business.