Are principals of schools administrators, managers or leaders? Part 2

Stephen P. Robbins and David A. De Cenzo in their text, Fundamentals of Management... (1998) provide one definition of leaders as “people who are able to influence others and who possess managerial authority” (p. 389).

Leadership, then, may be defined as an ability possessed by these leaders or, as some may say, a strategy used by these leaders, to guide those whom they lead towards achieving the goals of the organisation of which they have responsibility.

Leadership involves a process and it requires that those who are leaders possess specific skills and qualities such as the ability to communicate effectively; energy because jobs now-a-days require continuing innovation on the part of leaders; initiative because gone are the days, if they ever existed, when a senior authority figure provided subordinates with step by step instructions to get the job done; willingness to accept responsibility because the environment in which organisations now operate is demanding new standards of accountability; the adherence to ethical standards if leaders want to engender trust in the organisation. Much more can be gained in organisations where there is trust in leaders than in those where there is distrust; the exuding of confidence on the part of leaders. Workers do not respect, or are not willing to follow leaders who are deemed to be “wishy washy”, that is, lacking in confidence. Leaders must also have knowledge of the requirements of the job. While leaders of schools will not possess knowledge of all subjects, for example, they must understand the goals of the education system, their roles in the school as well as the nature and structure of their jobs.

Part 1 of this article, Are principals of schools administrators, managers or leaders? showed, probably not too clearly, that administration and management, while not exactly synonymous, are bound together in some way. This article will show that administration, management and leadership in the organisational context are integral to the organisation achieving its objectives. Therefore, the administrators/managers/leaders in the organisation who possess management authority should, ideally possess leadership ability. Moreover, leadership skills should not only be possessed by administrators/managers/leaders but also by everyone in the organisation.

There are as many theories of leadership as there are scholars who have done research in or are involved in research in this area of study. And, there are many scholars involved in this area of research. Much of the research on leadership started in other academic fields has been built on by scholars in the field of education to explain leadership in the sphere of education. Among the theories on leadership from which educators may choose to seek understanding about themselves and the process in which they are engaged are theories classified according to the factors on which researchers concentrate in order to interrogate the concept of leadership.

For example, do successful leaders possess certain [universal?] traits? Do successful leaders possess certain desirable behaviours? Is the success of leaders as a result of situational factors as well as leadership style? Are successful leaders charismatic? Are successful leaders transactional leaders or transformational leaders? Do successful leaders possess a combination of traits and behaviours as well as a particular leadership style that determine success? What can we learn from studies of leadership?

Those who are involved in the administration/management/leadership of schools may be familiar with some the educational theories of leadership – facilitative, transformational, instructional, administrative, post modern  among other derivatives – with the transformational style of leadership seeming to be privileged among these theories at this time. Though these theories may have some explanatory force as regards practice in the field of education, they must be consulted with care.

 That is, the leadership role that administrators/managers/leaders of schools play must not be divorced from the environments in which they operate. In moving into their roles, administrators/managers/leaders of schools must start from the beginning, that is, the purpose of the school. The major goal of the school, they will agree, is to improve the academic and/or, vocational performance of students, depending on the nature of the school. But, in order for this goal to be realised the administrators/managers/leaders of schools must strive to create an environment that will not only be conducive to students’ learning but one that will cater to the needs of all members of the school community. If all the stakeholders of the schools have reason to feel invested in the schools, performance at all levels will improve. Just ask some teachers and students.

After administrators/managers/leaders have come to an understanding of the goals of their schools they should share these goals with their staff. They should also embark on a campaign of building trust in the organisation. And, since a number of staff members will have leadership roles in the schools and since the administrators/managers/leaders realise that as part of their roles they should be involved in succession planning, they should open up leadership training opportunities to all members of staff. In addition, these administrators/managers/leaders of schools should seek out opportunities to access courses on leadership because they may learn something new about leadership. Research on the subject is ongoing. 

These administrators/managers/leaders should realise that they have a major role to play in the success or lack thereof of their schools.

Read part 1 of this article.