September 3 rd , 2011
School Leadership and Administration:
Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations
Chapter 1: Leadership (4)
Definitions and need for leadership -5:
 “The leader is the one who succeeds in getting others to follow him (or her)”
- Cowley
Individuals can lead; Groups can lead -5: o Stogdill: Leadership is not meant for one person, but it is instead referencing the means to increase the performance and effectiveness of an entire group. o Thomas Carlyle’s “Great Man” theory: We should recognize that our world is more of a product of great groups, as opposed to great individuals. Their accomplishments can be attributed to their
“shared dream”. In summation; the groups can serve as the leader.
Empowerment -5: o Taylor and Rosenbach: “Leadership involves assisting everyone working with the organization to collectively gain control over resources for the common good.” o Four ways to empower subordinates:
 Structure tasks that create success and reward
 Verbal persuasion to improve morale
 Reduce tension and incite pride in the organization
 Model empowerment through one’s own behavior o Lilly:
 Disruptive power: adversarial and controlling
 Collective power: empowering all individuals involved o Evidence that a groups is empowered:
 People feel significant
 Leaders are modeling expected behaviors
 Work in viewed as exciting
Administrators, managers, and leaders -6: o Lipham: an administrator is an individual who utilizes the structure to achieve a goal, but a leader is concerned with initiating changes in established structures to achieve goals. o Kotter: “Management is about coping with complexity”, “Leadership is about coping with change” o Lipham: “Managers are the people who do things right, but leaders are the people who do the right things.”
 There is a time and a place for being a leader and a manager.
At some point an administrator will have to be both.
Why leadership has become so important -7: o Due to the demand for school improvement, the needs for visionaries willing to take on the task are needed. o Parks and Barrett: Future leaders must demonstrate the following:
 Recognizing, rewarding, and supporting new systems; coaching new values, missions, and goals of the school; supplying necessary resources; providing tools for review and reflections; promoting opportunities for skill enhancement; giving credit to new leaders; consulting often to new leaders; and supporting the new leaders decisions.

September 3 rd , 2011
School Leadership and Administration:
Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations
Window on diversity: Leadership -8
 Culturally proficient leadership continuum o Cultural destructiveness: Eliminate o Cultural incapacity: Superiority o Cultural blindness: Ignore differences o Cultural precompetence: See difference, respond inadequately o Cultural competence: See the difference, understand the difference o Cultural proficiency: See the difference, respond positively
Seminal studies in leadership and types of leadership -9:
Trait studies -9:
 Studies intended to tell the difference between those that are leaders and those that are not.
 Stogdill noted that there were not general traits exhibited that were consistently superior. There was not a magic leader trait discovered.
Behavior studies -9:
 Study was done during the 30s, 40s, and 50s among some small midwestern collages.
 Iowa created the “Leadership and Group Life” research group o Found that a democratic approach was superior to an autocratic of laissez-faire style.
 Ohio State: found that consideration and initiating structure were major motivational factors among subordinates.
 U of Mich.: o Three characteristics of effective leadership
 Task oriented
 Relationship oriented
 Participative leadership o Blake and Mouton introduced their managerial grid and identified 5 leadership styles:
1.
Authoritarian leader – high task/low relationship
2.
Team leader – high task/high relationship (Most desirable)
3.
Country club leader – low task/high relationship
4.
Impoverished leader – low task/low relationship
5.
Organizational leader – maintains the status quo o In 1991 they changed their grid:
1.
Dictatorial
2.
Accommodating
3.
Status quo
4.
Indifferent
5.
Paternalistic
6.
Opportunistic
7.
Sound
Situational leadership and contingency models -12:
 The leadership approach is decided by the situation
 Different situations need different types of leaders

September 3 rd , 2011
School Leadership and Administration:
Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations o Has been used time and time again by schools to help adapt to the changing education climate. Often times, it is necessary to change the leadership style at a school to improve its success. Thus, the more flexible as a leader, the more opportunities you may be able to handle.
Path-goal theory -13:
 It is the leaders role to clearly explain the way in which the group will reach its goal. They are to remove roadblocks to ensure success.
 House and Mitchell’s four styles of leadership: o Supportive leadership: Considers the needs of the followers.
Best under stressful, boring, or hazardous scenarios. o Directive leadership: Tells what needs to be done and gives guidance along the way. Best the task is unstructured. o Participative leadership: Consults with followers. Best when working with colleagues of experts. o Achievement-oriented leadership: Sets challenging goals.
Best when the task is complex.
Today’s effective leaders -14:
 Top for attributes of effective leaders: o HONEST o FORWARD LOOKINMG o INSPIRATIONAL o COMPETENT
 Five best practices of great leadership: o Challenging the process o Inspiring others to a shared vision o Enlisting support and enabling to act o Setting an example with their own behavior o Encouraging
Transformational leadership -15:
 Manifested through people, as opposed to over people
 Composed of three attributes: o Collaborative o Professionalism and empowerment o Understanding of change
 Principled leadership: Based on ideographic morality. Initiated with an individuals questions the democratic efficacy of decisions and procedure that he/she is demanded to implement.
 Pragmatic leadership: Leadership is not just about academic success, but includes the promoting of social, political, and economic change.
 Purposive leadership: focuses on changing school districts or implementing change at a school site.
Distributed leadership -16:
 Centered in the guiding of a group, not just a leader, educating a staff on a change. The line between leader and follower can become blurred with this approach.
Group Leadership -17:
The group dynamics approach -17:

September 3 rd , 2011
School Leadership and Administration:
Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations
 Understand the dynamics of a group to make a decision on the leadership method that is necessary.
Recognizing possible group problems -17:
 Major difficulties: o Lack of understanding by individuals as to why they are members of the group. o Lack of understanding of the groups task o Difficulty in developing a constructive atmosphere o Difficulty in keeping people’s attention o Inadequate leadership o Lack of knowledge o Inadequate follow-through
 It is essential to develop cohesiveness and trust in groups.
Group members must be valued -18:
 Members must feel they are valued
 Administrator should make sure each member feels as if they have a purpose
Group members must share goals -19:
 Each member must understand how their goals and the goals of the group are aligned.
Group members must have a spirit of cooperation and teamwork -19:
 Cooperation encourages acceptance and because of this it is a necessary trait of a successful group
 Johnson and Johnson: Several understanding must occur to develop cooperation: o All must understand the total problem o All must see how they can contribute o All must be aware of how other group members van contribute o All must understand other member’s problems o All must be aware of and accept the need for cooperation
The need for mutual trust -19:
 High level of trust creates an open and productive atmosphere, whereas a low trust environment breeds devious and destructive attitudes.
 The administrator must be trusting and cooperative.
 The following are ways to build trust: o Practice two-way communication o Utilize face-to-face as often as possible o Be clear and understanding o Learn to listen o Practice an open door policy o Build credibility with the staff
Effects of group size -20:
 The size of a group can determine the complexity of the group dynamics and should always be taken into consideration. Some situations are better with more, and some with less, but prepared for the unique challenges posed by the group sizes.
Importance of both common and diverse backgrounds and interests -20:

September 3 rd , 2011
School Leadership and Administration:
Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations
 People that are alike will get along, but might lack production.
Groups that are very different might not get along too well, but there differences might spark a unique take on a problem.
Leadership in group meetings -21:
 It is the responsibility of the administrator to see that the tasks are carried out through the meeting. It is important for the group to see that accomplishments are being made, so that they are inspired to continue working on the task. Ineffective meeting can eat up valuable time, so it is imperative that meeting are efficient and productive. It is the role of the leader to make sure that this happens.
A final note -21:
 The leader of today needs to recognize the unique demands of the school system today and offer equally unique approaches to finding their solutions. The cultural “borders” that are becoming more and more prevalent require administrators to create structure in which prejudice and discrimination are not allowed to affect student learning.
Notes -22:
 List of the sources used for the chapter.