THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP Dr Alison Atwell October

THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP Dr Alison Atwell: October 2012

EXPLORING MEANING Meanings are never closed and finished but open and negotiable. There is never a final interpretation because we never reach a final perception. (Hedley Beare & Richard Slaughter)

A DAILY ON-GOING MEANING Leadership has to take place every day. It cannot be the responsibility of the few, a rare event or a once in a while activity. (Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie)

MY LEADERSHIP GURUS � Thomas Sergiovanni � Peter Senge � Linda Lambert � Peter Drucker � Marilyn Katzenmeyer � Gayle Moller � Michael Fullan � Robert Greenleaf � Headley Beare � Richard Slaughter � John Maxwell � James Kouzes � Barry Posner � Warren Bennis � Burt Nanus � Ronald Heifetz � Donald Laurie

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP THEORIES

Leadership as a term offers numerous meanings throughout organizations and certainly within educational contexts. However two factors stand out in efforts to define leadership that are common to all.

Leadership is a group function that requires interaction and in addition leadership requires intentional influence on the behaviors of other people. You cannot have leaders without followers but at the same time there are many ways of viewing how this relationship works and what makes it work at its best.

Above all leadership should be seen as a process rather than a product.

There is not one single style of leadership that is better than other styles. Most leaders create their own style of leading by seeking what elements work best for them out of a range of possible styles available. They take the best aspects and weave them together.

What we mean by leadership and what our expectations of a leader are has changed dramatically during the past decades. We should acknowledge that to accept new theories requires a change in mind set in order to move forward. For example we choose today to abandon some early theories such as the “Great person theory” in light of our greater understanding of more relevant recent offerings.

MY PERSONAL THEORETICAL BASE HEART-CENTRED THEORY

The Heart Centred Theory of Leadership identified what is considered important for leaders in terms of a leader’s ability to question processes, inspire shared vision, help others to reach their full potential and to encourage the heart. This style of leadership is seen as being inspirational as it doesn’t ever resort to the use of authority but rather energizes others into a common cause. It generates a compelling vision that changes the way that individuals see the world around them.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE HEART Outstanding leaders appeal to the hearts of their followers not their minds. (John Maxwell)

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

DREAMING OF POSSIBILITIES HOW DO YOU BEGIN YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?

WHERE DO OUR DREAMS LIE? WHAT IS OUR VISION FOR OUR PREFERRED LEADERSHIP? HOW SHALL WE REACH THIS PREFFERED VISION?

Dreams are the touchstones of our character. (Henry Thoreau) All glory comes from daring to begin. (Eugene F. Ware)

HOW DO WE MAKE OUR LEADERSHIP DREAMS BECOME REALITY?

To make dreams apparent to others and to align with them requires not just mere explanation or clarification but the creation of meaning. . . Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. (Warren Bennis)

CONTINUING THE DREAM Leadership development is a life time journey not a brief trip. (John Maxwell)

WEAVING THE DREAM

LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT INFLUENCE The true measure of leadership is influence- nothing more nothing less. Leadership isn’t about titles, positions or flowcharts it is about one life influencing others (John Maxwell)

EMPOWERMENT OF OTHERS Leadership is not wielding authority – it’s empowering people. (Becky Brodin)

ARE WE BORN WITH LEADERSHIP? Leadership does not simply happen. It can be taught, learned, developed. (Rudolph Giuliani)

Leadership is influencing others to follow. After all if you don’t have followers you are not leading anyone. Leadership is about working with and relating to people. Leadership is not something that I or anyone else can give you. You can’t buy it. And you can’t expect others to anoint you with leadership because you are the manger. Leadership has to be earned. The long and the short of it. . . It takes time (Valerie Sokolosky)

LEADERSHIP CORNERSTONES � YOUR VALUES � YOUR SKILLS � YOUR HUMANITY

YOUR VALUES � Always value your personal integrity. Your integrity is integral to the trust that others place in you. � Always be responsible. You must be accountable for your actions. VALUES � Always be committed. You must give 100% of yourself to the task at hand. � Always look forward and have a vision for the future. VALUES

YOUR SKILLS � Always communicate effectively � Always remove obstacles that will cause tension and inhibit followers SKILLS � Always be optimistic. Consider the best scenario and aim for its implementation � Always embrace change SKILLS

YOUR HUMANITY � Always empower others to take responsibility � Always confront issues and be courageous in your journey � Always act as a positive role model � Always continue to develop yourself and to develop others. YOUR HUMANITY

Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself. (John Harold)

Leadership is all about working together with others �Purpose and values �Empowerment �Relationships and communication �Flexibility �Optimal performance �Recognition and appreciation �Morale

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT LEADER

The following list gives some important characteristics of great leaders. � � � Adaptable Encouraging Transparent Accountable Friendly Positive Open Balanced Professional Organized Collaborative Loyal � Teaching � Empowering � Genuine � Caring � Inspiring � Activating � Contributing � Responsive � Serving � Energetic � Inspirational � Giving � Cooperative

This list is open and can have additions! � Fun � Diplomatic � Responsible � Creative � Problem-solving � Diligent � Challenging � Praising � Dynamic � Respectful � Motivating � Communicative � Reflective � Open-minded � Determined � Patient � Optimistic � Sociable � Questioning � Developing � Mentoring � Visioning

Leadership is not a solo act it’s all about working with others � Purpose and values � Empowerment � Relationships and communication � Flexibility � Optimal performance � Recognition and appreciation � Morale

HOW TO BE A GREAT LEADER? If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. (John Quincy Adams)

PREPARATION & SKILLS Preparation is the key to leadership. Before you can begin to lead you need to ask yourself some critical questions.

Do you have the skills necessary to be a successful leader?

Do you know what you are expected to do? Do you really know the people you are leading and what they want?

EXTRAORDINARY LEADERS If you really want to become a great leader then you will need to know the answers to these simple questions. It is important that we focus on becoming “great” leaders, “extraordinary” leaders.

There isn’t really any value in being “ordinary” leaders if we really want to make a difference.

To do this we need to practice leadership not merely play at leadership. In other words keep on building skills. If you want to know the answers to the questions posed above then you need to practice gaining skills.

Some of these skills that can be practised include: �Work on your interpersonal skills �Build positive relationships. �Always communicate effectively with others. �Energize others to take action by motivating others to achieve more than they ever thought possible. �Stay approachable and build trust.

Develop yourself but also develop others by ensuring that others have every opportunity to grow and collaborate with others and build strong teams.

Listen and use people’s names. When talking to people say or do things that allows the other person to know that you are listening and understanding.

Smile when meeting and greeting other people!!!!

Always focus on building your personal strengths.

Look at what you already do well and learn how to do it even better.

Try working on just a few areas at a time so that you can really improve.

Address weaknesses: Work out a plan of action to overcome any significant weaknesses.

Do you lack openness to new ideas or a lack of initiative? Do you lack relationship building skills?

Make a plan to work on any of your flaws.

Learn from your mistakes: Look back and examine your actions and learn from any mistakes you made. Where could you have made improvements? Recognize that mistakes are part of the learning process.

Be open to new ideas: Ask others for their thoughts and ideas and be genuinely interested.

Capture the enthusiasm of others.

Be accountable: Responsible leaders take the blame for failures and are always prepared to pass on credit for high quality work.

Make things happen: Take initiative. Leaders make results happen and are on the forefront of making change happen. Don’t wait to respond to events after they happen.

Learn from feedback: Find people you can trust to offer you feedback and learn from what they have to offer so that you can grow.

Be inclusive: Make sure that you are providing opportunities for others to share leadership and that no group of stakeholders has been left out of this.

CONTINUE TO LEARN Make yourself the best leader possible: Learn from others. Learn from books and seminars. Ask for advice. Be active in your pursuit of improving your leadership skills.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To “manage” means “to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct”. “Leading” is “influencing, guiding in direction, course, action, opinion”. The distinction is crucial. (Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus)

Are they the same? Many people think that leadership and management are the same thing. They are not the same thing but at times they do overlap and both are important in a work environment. However leadership is different from management.

You manage things but you lead people.

Managers work with things such as processes, models and systems.

Leaders in contrast work with people and their emotions.

Managers do things right but leaders are said to do the right thing.

Doing things right means that you accomplish things well but doing the right thing means that your mind goes towards thoughts of the future and you think about dreams, missions, strategic intent and purpose.

Is Leadership magical? ? ? NO, Leadership isn’t Mystical and mysterious!

Leadership has nothing to do with having “charisma” or other exotic personality traits. It is not the province of a chosen few. It is not confined to either males or females.

Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it.

Do leadership and management work together? Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an organization. Of course not everyone can be good at both leading and managing.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Some people have the capacity to become excellent managers but not strong leaders. Others have great leadership potential but for a variety of reasons, have great difficulty becoming strong managers.

What is the difference? Management is about coping with complexity. Good management brings a degree of order and consistency to a working environment.

Leadership by contrast is about coping with change.

Leadership implies the setting of standards, goals and modes of behavior for the entire working community and creating and nurturing structures that support these goals.

Management tends to focus on the status quo. Leadership however is forward thinking. Leadership sets the style and tone for achieving a vision and motivates people to achieve this vision.

Management on the other hand is the tactical process of executing and achieving the mission. Management’s concern lies with the details and the day to day functions. Leadership is therefore about vision while management is about execution.

What is the same? Leadership and management overlap in that they both require you to embrace responsibility in order to be successful.

The leader is responsible for followers while the manager is responsible for the details of the mission.

Leadership is needed for problems that do not have easy answers. To put it simply, the manager administers while the leader innovates. The manager maintains while the leader develops. The manager asks how and when while the leader asks what and why.

Leadership or Management?

Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led. (Ross Perot) �

YOUR MISSION Never underestimate that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)

LEADERSHIP THEORIES

While current theories of leadership place emphasis on teamwork, learning networks, empowerment and sharing they do not offer one simple blueprint to provide the definitive answer as to what is the optimum theory of leadership. Therefore it is worthwhile to consider a broad range of available leadership theories in order to gauge which theory/theories may prove most relevant for each of us.

GREAT MAN THEORY: This is also known as the trait theory of leadership as it focuses on traits or characteristics of an individual as making them great leaders. The idea of this theory is that if traits of leadership can be easily assessed and recognized then individuals can be slotted into positions of leadership. In order to do this personality and physical and mental characteristics are examined. This theory was very well accepted at the beginning of the twentieth century having been made famous by Thomas Carlyle in the 1920’s but it is now considered to be inappropriate in light of our greater knowledge about the possibilities of leadership.

This Great Man Theory has as its basis that leaders are actually born with a gift to lead. Individuals are created at birth with characteristics that mean that they will be great leaders in the future. It relies on one’s heredity and the fortunes of birth and involves a combination of one’s personality, physical and mental characteristics.

This theory is all about genetic makeup. It is also a very male oriented theory. In being known as the “great man” theory its title excluded women altogether as being capable of leadership. It is very dependent on authoritarian style leadership.

BEHAVIOURAL THEORY: There a number of different behavioral theories but what they have in common is that these theories believe that effective leadership is dependent on a set of particular behaviors. If individuals are taught these behaviors then they can become great leaders.

This theory went beyond the great person theory to emphasize what leaders actually do on the job and the relationships of such behaviors to leadership effectiveness. It said that leadership could be learned.

SITUATIONAL THEORY: Behavioral leadership theory was found to be missing a crucial element. It was recognized that no leadership traits, behaviors or styles could automatically result in effective leadership without being placed within the context of the situation faced by the leader. A new theory therefore emerged which considered how a specific situation impacts on leadership.

The idea is that it is not just the leader’s style that will impact on the leader’s effectiveness but rather the ability of the leader to adapt that style to the specific needs of followers at any given time. Therefore it is also about the degree to which a situation gives a leader power, control and influence.

TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORY: This theory is built on the belief that a transformational leader motivates followers to work towards goals that will positively impact on the organization rather than immediate self-interests. A transformational leader is seen as an inspirational leader who is highly motivating.

Transformational leadership is seen as particularly effective at times when an organization needs to face significant change as transformational leadership has the capacity to motivate and inspire others and tends to motivate others to unite together for a common cause.

STRATEGIC THEORY: This concentrates on the characteristics of individuals who have the overall responsibility for an organization and on the practical nature of what they do and how they do it. It is a theory that is all about process. There are three dimensions that are considered: time, scale of issue and scope of action. Strategic leadership can be defined in terms of what a strategic leader does.

A strategic leader keeps abreast of trends and issues in the organization and in society at large and anticipates their impact on the organization in particular and education in general. A strategic leader shares knowledge within the organization and encourages others to do so as well. A strategic leader establishes structures and processes which enable the organization to set priorities and formulate strategies, which take account of likely and preferred futures. A strategic leader ensures that the organization is focused on matters of strategic importance.

SPIRITUAL THEORY: This emerged from the heart-centered theories. This theory suggests that leadership is all about the personal depths of a leader. It is about that leader’s understanding of her/his own humanity.

The leader should have a comprehensive and deeply contemplated world-view. A leader is required to have what is described as the “soul” of leadership, an ability to read the messages between the words to concentrate on what has heart and meaning. Questions become every bit as important as answers.

LEARNING ORGANIZATION THEORY: The emphasis was moving away from a behavioral approach towards a more facilitative approach, which involves leaders building teams and creating networks guided by a vision of the organization. This theory of leadership moves away from myths of heroes and born leaders towards leadership that is seen as building teams and strengthening communities.

Leaders are no longer seen as charismatic but are seen as designers, teachers and stewards. The concept of the learning organization suggested the need for individuals who are able to operate both in the forefront as well as in the background depending on the specific needs of the situation and the time. This is seen as a leadership situation without any boundaries.

Leadership within a learning organization is collaborative and does not rely on positions of designated power. It can’t be forced from above. For a learning organization to become a reality it must have the commitment of all. It involves all within an organization wanting to re-culture the organization from the bottom up. It is built on a foundation of shared vision. A learning organization offers the opportunity of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization that strengthens the whole community and enhances leadership practices. When organizational leadership occurs, individuals are able to process knowledge and collectively solve problems. .

VISIONARY THEORY: Leaders must also be visionaries, to be able to look at an organization and see where they would like it to be heading. However this should never be an individual leadership exercise.

All of the stakeholders in an organization should be involved in helping to formulate the vision and subsequently all stakeholders should work out together how to achieve that vision. Visionary leadership involves the asking of three simple questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How do we get there?

Ethical leadership: This is leadership that follows a set of guidelines that are considered fair, equitable and in the best interests of all. The ethical leader is socially responsible to the organization and to the wider society while at the same time ensuring that the rights of the individual are upheld.

The good of all human beings both collectively and individually is held sacred. It refers to leadership that functions within an accepted code of conduct. Ethical issues will always arise when any behavior is likely to have an effect on other people. Before being able to do the right thing leaders need to know what that “right thing” actually is.

An ethical leader will tease out what is the right thing for all and ensure that this is the driving force at all times. A leader has to be able to model ethical leadership, to show that he/she is making decisions based on a firm set of ethics.

MORAL THEORY: This is based on a genuine sharing of mutual needs, aspirations and values and not on any relationship of power. Instead of making decisions based on bureaucratic or even individual leadership decisions are made based on moral principles that centre on ideas, values and commitment.

This focuses as well on the general well-being of society. The focus is not on the leader as an individual but rather on serving the greater good while maintaining the rights of the individual.

SERVANT THEORY: This theory centers on the belief that leaders must first meet the needs of others before they can themselves lead. Servant leaders by focusing on the needs of others and encouraging the personal growth of all who work with them, foster a strong sense of community.

Servant leaders value human equality and therefore they seek to enhance the overall personal development and professional development of each individual within an organization. Servant leaders encourage collaboration and build a climate of trust. Servant leaders recognize that they too are members of the organization and are there to meet the needs of others in achieving the organization’s goals.

A servant leader has a goal to make sure that individuals grow as people, to ensure that individuals meet their full potential. Being a servant leader means recognizing the qualities of all in the organization and celebrating these qualities. Servant leadership asks the question, “What can I do to serve others through my leadership? ” A servant leader’s attributes will include qualities such as vision, honesty, stewardship, integrity, trust and empowerment. Servant leadership requires individuals as leaders to serve for the common good.

DISTRIBUTIVE THEORY: By the beginning of the twenty-first century a new form of leadership was emerging that implied that leadership could be shared and was not the sole right of one individual. Followers are therefore treated as ends in themselves rather than as a means to produce something. It relies on partnerships with others. Leadership is not a solo performance.

This is a theory of process rather than of individuals. As a process it requires shared vision and shared accountability. It involves a shift to building a community of relationships. There is a shift from relying on the power of the system to feeling empowered or seeking to empower others. Leadership is not role specific and team building and collaborative problem solving provide effective and efficient vehicles for the growth of communities. Leadership therefore thrives on collective involvement and celebrates diversity.

Distributive leadership is also considered as shared leadership. Leadership is a possibility for all. It is not about grand gestures or personal greatness but rather about the sharing of everyday experiences.

Leadership is something people do together not alone.

It thrives on collective responsibility. Leadership is about a partnership not about a solo performance. It is knowledge based rather than skills based and is dispersed rather than top down. Leadership should always be a process rather than a position.

Organizations are always in a constant state of change. It is therefore important that individuals working in these organizations have the ability to change course rapidly and to adjust to change. Leaders should never “take Control” in this process. Rather leadership involves a community of trust where strong relationships are built. In other words what is required is many leaders rather than just one leader.

Leadership is not about one person at the top but rather about every person at every level who in one way or another acts as a leader at any given time.

In order to have shared leadership it is therefore crucial to have shared vision and shared values.

When leadership is distributed throughout the organization individuals do not feel as if they have to have all of the answers to all of the questions. Most importantly they have to know how to ask the right questions.

Leadership becomes collaborative. Leadership that is solely directed from the front becomes obsolete as leadership is centered in relationships rather than in one single person.

Genuine leaders make things better not just for themselves but for others as well.

Distributed leadership: Summing up 1. Multiple sources of guidance and direction 2. Shared learning through teams of staff working together 3. A collaborative model 4. About relationship building 5. Democratic decision making 6. Autonomy for initiative and innovation 7. Shared mission and vision 8. Shared culture 9. Shared accountability

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