Personal Leadership Platform |Legit essays

Gorton, R. (2022). School Leadership and Administration: Important Concepts, Case Studies, and Simulations (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781266172724

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It has been said, “The organization without effective leadership is in trouble.”1 Most

administrators recognize that providing leadership is a major expectation for their role. This

expectation is emphasized both in educational literature and at various professional meetings.

But what constitutes leadership? How does the administrator exercise leadership? In response

to these questions, literally hundreds of studies have been conducted, and thousands of articles

and many books have been written. Although these efforts have, in many instances, provided

insights into the subject of leadership, the concept remains elusive. In large part, this may be

because leadership involves the effective utilization of all the other concepts in this text, and it is

difficult to analyze as a distinct concept. This chapter reviews some of the relevant and seminal

research on literature in leadership as well as describes and analyzes particular concepts that

possess major relevance for the school administrator who wants to be an educational leader,

with particular emphasis on the notion of group leadership.

DEFINITIONS AND NEED FOR LEADERSHIP

Theorists, researchers, and practitioners have defined leadership in a variety of ways.2

Probably the most commonsensical definition was stated by Cowley in the 1920s: “The leader is

the one who succeeds in getting others to follow him [or her].”3 “Leadership is taking risks,

making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. Leadership provides the very foundation for

a sound educational program. When leadership is right, people are inspired to do their best.” 4

Individuals Can Lead; Groups Can Lead

As theorists and researchers began to analyze the term leadership, more elaborate and

sophisticated definitions evolved. Stogdill, a respected authority on the subject, defined

leadership as those activities engaged in by an individual or members of a group that contribute

significantly to the “development and maintenance of role structure and goal direction,

necessary for effective group performance.”5 Stogdill’s definition emphasizes that leadership

need not be limited to one individual, such as the school administrator, and that the focus of

leadership activities should be on increasing the performance effectiveness of the group.

Referring to Thomas Carlyle’s “Great Man” theory of history, Bennis suggests that perhaps

instead we should realize that to a great extent “our world has in fact been the product of ‘Great

Groups,’ teams of creative persons who banded together to achieve remarkable successes that

would not have been possible through a traditional hierarchical approach.”6 He emphasizes that

a shared dream is at the heart of each “Great Group” and that individual egos are put aside in

order to pursue the dream. Bennis writes that leadership is dispersed among Great Groups, not

necessarily by formal rotation rules but by different group members assuming different types of

leadership roles at different times and in different situations according to their individual abilities.

Thus the group itself can be a leader at the same time that various members are leaders within

the group. Certain traits characterize team or group leaders, according to Bennis: namely,

providing direction and meaning, generating and sustaining trust, displaying an eagerness to

take action, and spreading hope.7

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Empowerment

The concept of empowerment has increasingly dominated the research on group leadership and

group dynamics and has had an impact on the way leadership is defined. According to Taylor

and Rosenbach, “Leadership involves assisting everyone working with the organization to

collectively gain control over resources for the common good.”8 Conger and Kanungo define

empowerment as “a process of enhancing feelings of self-efficacy among organizational

members through identification of conditions that foster powerlessness and through their

removal by both formal organizational practices and informal techniques of providing efficacy

information.”9

Conger stresses four ways in which effective leaders empower subordinates. First, they

structure tasks so that staff members have success and are rewarded. Second, they use verbal

persuasion to convince followers that they are able to successfully complete difficult tasks.

Third, effective leaders reduce tensions and build excitement and pride in the organization.

Finally, good leaders model empowerment through their own behavior, showing that they, too,

are empowered when interacting with their superiors and thereby demonstrating what

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