Transformational Leadership:
Understanding the
Knowledge and Applying the
Concepts
West Virginia 21st Century
Leadership Institute
November, 2008
Jerry Valentine
Our Process Today
Brief look at Leadership in general
Background perspective: Transactional
and Transformational Leadership
Small group activity: Contrast
Transactional and Transformational
Leadership
Current perspective: Transformational
Leadership Functions and Practices
The Big Picture for Principal Leadership
Leadership
I find the great thing in this world is not so
much where we stand, as in what direction
we are moving. To reach the port of
heaven, we must sail sometimes with the
wind and sometimes against it—but we
must sail, and not drift; nor lie at anchor.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes
Goal of Leadership
The goal of leadership is improvement…
more specifically, establishing widely agreed
upon and worthwhile directions for the
organization and doing whatever it takes to
prod and support people to move in those
directions
Leadership is working with members so the
organization improves.
(Leithwood et al., 2006)
Absence of Leadership…
In the absence of leadership an
organization experiences Drift and
Detachment.
– Drift
Drift is sailing without a rudder
– Detachment
Detachment is a psychological state where the
group lacks any deep commitment…just going
through the motions.
(Dan Duke, U. of Va at WVa Institute, 11-3-07)
Drift-Detachment
You know you are in Drift or have
Detachment when members of the
organization
– cannot visualize what the leader wants
– cannot visualize what the leader believes
– cannot identify any of the priorities of the
organization
– cannot discern which of the (too) many
priorities are really the key priorities.
James McGregor Burns
Leadership (1978) seminal book
conceptualized transformational
leadership
Explains and contrasts leadership as
– “transactional”
or
– “transformational”
Burns: Transactional Leadership
is initiated solely by the formal leader
is based upon the exchange of valued goods
between the leader and followers
is based on tangible (money, resources) or
intangible (time, recognition, praise, etc.) goods
is not based on an enduring relationship;
therefore both parties go their separate ways
is based on a shrewd eye for opportunity, a
good hand at bargaining, persuading, and
reciprocating
uses extrinsic motivation
Burns: Transformational Leadership
is initiated by the leader
is based on mutual reciprocal relationship
elevates both leader and followers to higher
levels of motivation and morality
promotes high levels of conduct and ethical
aspirations
uses intrinsic motivation
Burns: Transactional and
Transformational Leadership Compared
Transactional…
– is based upon the fulfillment of lower-order needs, such as
psychological well-being and safety
– is based upon model of punishment, deference to authority,
conformity, and social convention
Transformational…
– is based upon the fulfillment of higher-order needs, such as selfesteem, self-actualization
– is based upon a model of principled morality
– is grounded in the needs and values of both leaders and followers
– provides the opportunity over time followers have the potential to be
changed (transformed) into leaders themselves
– is a mechanism for the authentic empowerment of followers
Scenario: Transactional or
Transformational
For this activity, we will work first in pairs and then
quartets.
Working first in your assigned pairs, read the scenario
and then discuss the scenario.
In your pairing, indicate for each scenario whether the
description represents a principal who is functioning as a
Transactional or Transformational leader. Discuss what
makes the leadership transactional or transformational.
Move into your quartet, share/discuss your findings from
your pairing, then for each Transactional scenario
determine how the scenario would be different if the
leader was functioning as a Transformational leader…be
prepared to share with whole group as time permits.
Scenario A
Principal: M. Y. Way (female)
In the spring the new principal must address, for the first
time, the assignment of teachers to specific classes
and/or grade levels for the coming year.
Principal Way studies the course (or grade level)
assignments for a couple of weeks and then posts them
on the schedule board in the faculty lounge.
She then calls each teacher into her office for a private
conversation with the intent to convince the teacher that
his/her respective assignment is the best for the school.
For the few teachers who complain, Principal Way offers
incentives (e.g. released time) to convince the teacher
that the assignment is appropriate.
Small Group Tasks
Pairs: Is the leadership in the scenario
transactional or transformational?
Pairs: Why (what evidence) do you see
that supports your conclusion?
Quartet: If you decided it was
transactional, what aspects of leadership
could the principal change that would
move the leadership style from
transactional to transformational?
Whole group discussion/share-out…
Scenario B
Principal: I. M. Visual (male)
Principal Visual really wants to improve the school’s mathematics
achievement scores on the state test.
He calls a special faculty meeting in September to discuss his vision
for the math program.
Principal Visual shares with the faculty a PPT presentation
describing in detail the school math achievement data and
explaining why the math program must change.
When he asks for teacher volunteers from all content (or grade
levels) to serve on a task-force to design a plan to reach the vision,
no teachers volunteer.
Principal Visual decides on the spot that the only way to move
forward is to assign the task-force members, so he indicates that he
will make those assignments next Monday if he does not have six
volunteers between today and Monday.
Principal Visual concludes the meeting by saying that he believes
those who step up and serve will truly become key leaders in the
school over the next two or three years because of the impact they
will make on the school’s achievement scores.
Small Group Tasks
Pairs: Is the leadership in the scenario
transactional or transformational?
Pairs: Why (what evidence) do you see
that supports your conclusion?
Quartet: If you decided it was
transactional, what aspects of leadership
could the principal change that would
move the leadership style from
transactional to transformational?
Whole group discussion/share-out…
Bernard Bass: Transformational
Leadership (1980s/1990s)
Proposed a four-factor definition of TL:
– Idealized Influence (serves as a role model)
– Inspirational Motivation (provides meaning
and challenge to followers; vision/goals)
– Intellectual Stimulation (solicits and
encourages ideas, challenges assumptions)
– Individualized Consideration (coach and
mentor followers; personnel growth and
development)
Leithwood’s 1996 Six Factor Model of
Transformational Leadership
Provides Vision
Models Behavior
Fosters Commitment
Provides Individual Support
Provides Intellectual Stimulation
Holds High Performance Expectations
Leithwood’s 2006 Model of Leadership
Four Primary functions of Leadership
– Setting Direction
– Developing People
– Redesigning the Organization
– Managing the Instructional (Teaching/Learning)
Program
Setting Direction
The transformational leader’s critical
practices:
– Building a shared vision (Provides Vision)
– Fostering the acceptance of group goals
(Fosters Commitment)
– Conveying high performance expectations
(Holds High Expectations)
(Leithwood et al., 2006) (Original 6 factors in yellow)
Developing People
The transformational leader’s critical practices:
– Providing individualized support/consideration
(Provides Individualized Support)
– Providing intellectual stimulation (Provides Intellectual
Stimulation)
– Providing an appropriate model (Models Behavior)
(Leithwood et al., 2006) (Original 6 factors in yellow)
Redesigning the Organization
The transformational leader’s critical practices:
– Building collaborative cultures
– Restructuring the school’s management structures
– Building productive relationships with families and
communities
– Connecting the school to its wider environment.
(Leithwood et al., 2006)
Managing the Instructional
(Teaching and Learning) Programs
The transformational leader’s critical
practices:
– Staffing the programs
– Providing instructional (teaching and learning)
support
– Managing school activity
– Buffering staff from distractions to their work
(Leithwood et al., 2006)
The following slides provide examples of
principal behavior from the Principal
Leadership Questionnaire developed by
Jantzi and Leithwood, 1996.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Visioning
– Excites faculty with visions of what we may be
able to accomplish if we work together as a
team.
– Makes faculty members feel and act like
leaders.
– Gives the faculty a sense of overall purpose
for its leadership role.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Models Behavior
Leads by “doing” rather than simply by “telling.”
Exemplifies success and accomplishment within
the profession of education.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Fosters Commitment
– Provides for participation in the process of developing
school goals.
– Encourages faculty members to work toward the
same goals.
– Uses problem solving with the faculty to generate
school goals.
– Works toward whole faculty consensus in establishing
priorities for school goals.
– Regularly encourages faculty members to evaluate
progress toward achievement of school goals.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Provides Individualized Support
– Provides for extended training to develop teachers’
knowledge and skills relevant to being a
member
of the school faculty.
– Provides the necessary resources to support
implementation of the school’s program.
– Treats me as an individual with unique needs and
expertise.
– Takes my opinion into consideration when initiating
actions that affect my work.
– Behaves in a manner thoughtful of my personal
needs.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Provides Intellectual Stimulation
– Challenged me to reexamine some basic
assumptions I have about my work in the
school.
– Stimulates me to think about what I am doing
for the school’s students.
– Provides information that helps me think of
ways to implement the school’s program.
Examples of Transformational
Principal Behaviors
Holds High Expectations
– Insists on only the best performance from the
school’s faculty.
– Shows us that there are high expectations for
the school’s faculty as professionals.
– Does not settle for second best in the
performance of our work as the school’s
faculty.
Movies and Leadership
Name a movie where the main character
is a leader who must accomplish certain
goals. What were the leadership
characteristics of that
leader…transactional or transformational?
Synthesis: The Big Picture
What are the key concepts we should take
with us from our discussion of
Transformational Leadership?
and
What are basic leadership competencies or
behaviors exhibited by a transformational
leader?
Use the following Scenario if time…
Scenario C Principal: I. Care (female)
Principal Care recently learned about the importance of school culture at the
state’s leadership institute and led a discussion with her faculty about what a
caring, collaborative culture looks like in a highly successful school and
provided a reading and encouraged her teachers to read and discuss the
reading in the professional groups.
She obtained permission to use a culture instrument and asked teachers to
complete the 36-item survey and return their responses to the school secretary
by the end of the week.
32 of the 56 teachers returned completed surveys by Friday afternoon.
Over the weekend, Principal Care sent an email to all teachers. She indicated
that she did not know who had or had not responded since the survey was
anonymous, but reiterated the importance of the faculty’s upcoming analysis of
the school’s culture and encouraged those who might not have responded to
take time to respond before next Wednesday’s faculty meeting discussion.
By the Tuesday afternoon, 52 of 56 teachers had responded. She computed
the results Tuesday night.
Principal Care opened the faculty discussion on Wednesday by thanking those
who took time to respond and expressing understanding for those who did not
because she knew everyone on the staff was busy and feeling overworked.
She divided the faculty into small groups of 5-6 teachers, distributed the survey
results, and asked the faculty to discuss what they learned from the data that
informed their school improvement plan for next year.
As the small groups shared their discussions, she typed their thoughts on the
projector and facilitated the discussion.
Small Group Tasks
Pairs: Is the leadership in the scenario
transactional or transformational?
Pairs: Why (what evidence) do you see
that supports your conclusion?
Quartet: If you decided it was
transactional, what aspects of leadership
could the principal change that would
move the leadership style from
transactional to transformational?
Whole group discussion/share-out…