This was
the first time I attended a TESOL and I was amazed at how big and how
well-organized it is. It was great to see so many teachers from all over the
world learning, sharing, motivating and being motivated. There was a huge
variety of topics for the presentations, with options for everybody’s interests.
I chose to attend those related to Teacher Development and Leadership not only
because of my present position at Thomas, but also because I believe we
teachers are always searching for professional development opportunities and we
are all leaders.
There was
one particular presentation I enjoyed a lot and would like to share with you:
“Leadership Skills and Styles Affecting Leaders” by Dr. Sufian Abu-Rmaileh,
from the United Arab Emirates University.
He started
by defining Leadership:
“The act of
identifying important goals and then motivating and enabling others to devote
themselves and all necessary resources to its achievement. It includes
summoning one’s self and others to learn and adapt to the new situation
represented by the goal” (NYSBR 2003, p. 3)
“Much more
an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do” (De
Pree 1989, p.148)
So, who is
a leader?
Astin and
Astin (2000) define a leader as anyone who has a formal position and who holds
the role of bringing about change in the society in which they live and work.
De Pree
(1990) says that one of the major tasks of a leader is to expand and unleash
the talents and skills of the different people in the organization.
These definitions
made me think of how much we teachers match them. Every semester we face
different challenges to which we have to adapt and learn how to deal with. We
are in charge of groups of students who need our constant guidance, model,
assistance and motivation. More than teaching English, we teach them how to
respect and help their peers, how to accept different opinions, how to overcome
their difficulties.
Good leaders help their team achieve their goal, which
should be in accordance with the institution’s/organization’s. I particularly
like De Pree’s saying about the role of
a leader. A good teacher/leader should be able to expand and unleash the
talents and skills of the different people s/he leads.
There are
different leadership styles and we can adopt different styles according to our
and others’ necessities and in different moments of our life. Dr. Abu-Rmaileh talked
about the six leadership styles listed below.
1. Directive Leader:
Allows little or no negotiations
Keeps tight control without delegating
Is not flexible or open to new ideas
2. Visionary Leader:
Has clear standards and feedback
Explains the logic behind procedures
Inspires people to a higher purpose for their work
3. Affliliative Leader:
Creates harmony and affective/emotional bonding
Avoids confrontation with others
Provides little explanation on direction or rationale behind tasks
4. Democratic/Participative Leader:
Collaboration and team concurrence
High on trust, respect and commitment
Motivates his/her team by empowering them to direct themselves
5. Pacesetting Leader:
Sets high standards for performance
Obsesses about doing things better, faster, quicker
The pursuit of excellence is overwhelming
6. Coaching Leader:
Helps team members to discover their own strengths and weaknesses
Guides people to find and create their own career development
Links goals, personal and career, with those of the organization
Leadership Matrix
|
How it Builds Resonance
|
Impact On Climate
|
When Appropriate
|
Competency requirements
|
Visionary
|
Moves people towards shared dreams
|
Most
strongly positive
|
When changes require a new vision, or, when clear direction is needed
|
Self-Awareness, Self-Confidence, Empathy, Transparency, Visionary
Leadership, Change Catalyst
|
Coaching
|
Connects what a person wants with organisational goals
|
Highly
positive
|
To help an employee improve performance by building long term
capabilities
|
Self-Awareness, Empathy, Developing Others
|
Affiliative
|
Creates harmony by connecting people to each other
|
Positive
|
To heal rifts in a team, motivate during stressful times, or
strengthen connections
|
Empathy, Teamwork & Collaboration, Conflict management, Building
Bonds
|
Democratic
|
Values peoples input and get commitment through participation
|
Positive
|
To build buy in or consensus, or to get valuable input from employees
|
Empathy,
Teamwork & Collaboration, Influence
|
Pacesetting
|
Meets challenging and exciting goals
|
Is often Highly Negative - because it is generally poorly
executed
|
To get high quality results from a motivated and competent team
|
Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self Control, Achievement Drive,
Transparency, Initiative, Adaptability, Teamwork & Collaboration
|
Commanding
|
Soothes fears by giving clear direction in an emergency
|
Can be Highly Negative – because so often misused
|
In a crisis, to kick start a turnaround, or with a problem employee
|
Self-Awareness, Self-Control, Empathy, Achievement drive, Initiative
|
I’m sure
you have recognized yourself at different moments of your professional life in
many of the characteristics listed above. These characteristics are just a few
among many others for each style. We can select some and put them together to
come up with our idea of an effective leader. Dr. Abu-Rmaileh presented
effective leaders as being:
-
Visionary
- -
Trustworthy,
fair and honest
- -
Role
Models and Mentors – “Effective leaders demonstrate courage in difficult
situations, and provide a model of moral leadership for other to emulate”
(NYSBR, 2003, p. 2)
- -
Visible
- -
Dedicated
– Effective leaders are dedicated to the institution which they serve. They have commitment and loyalty to
the constituents and to the institution.
- -
Good
Communicators
The
implications of good leadership are many. Good leadership in the classroom
leads to a calm end of semester, not necessarily an easy one, but surely one in
which we have a sense of accomplishment. Some of the implications Dr.
Abu-Rmaileh talked about and I believe are appropriate for a classroom
environment were:
- -
Achievement
drive: high level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy and initiative
- -
Honesty
and integrity: a trustworthy environment
- -
Self-confidence:
belief in one’s self, ideas and ability
- -
Emotional
maturity: well-adjusted groups
The
presentation made me reflect on the kind of leader I am and the kind of leader
I want to be, my personal characteristics that influence on my leadership
style, and the aspects I need to work on in order to be a better leader. I hope
it helps you see yourselves as leaders too and realize the importance of being
a good leader.