LEADING

PhD EM 309
Essentials of Management

By: Clifford C. Balolong

I. Rationale

“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming

yourself. It is precisely that simple and also that difficult.”
— Warren Bennis

Leader is not a big boss, a know-it-all, the one that

needs to be the best and wants to show everyone that he is
better than the others. You will not want to start the initiative to
show that you are the best, you will want to do it because you
genuinely believe it will be for the benefit to others. As a good
leader, you will want to inspire others to take action by taking
your own action.
 Being a leader means to be a part of a group with one
additional role – to keep the group organized and well-
functioning. This position requires you to have a sense of
responsibility and sensitivity towards the needs of the group and
associated people. It is important to note that you can be a
leader and show leadership even without a “followership”,
having people who will follow you. Showing responsibility for
oneself and demonstrating the ability to make personal change
is often as critical as leading a group of individuals or altering
the larger community.
 "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do
something you want done because he wants to do it.
— Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower’s definition of leadership is veraciously on

the mark, particularly in the context of an educational setting.
As educators, we work diligently to engage and motivate
students so they want to: learn, read, think critically, create,
collaborate, and ultimately become life-long learners and
leaders. An effective educational administrators purposefully
and deliberately seek to create a climate and culture that
promotes and perpetuates on-going learning and growth of
students and teachers alike.
II. Experience & Practice

“To handle yourself , use your head; to handle others,

use your heart.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt

An educational leader needs a strong guiding force — a

vision or a purpose. This becomes the compass that determines
the path of every aspect of his leadership whether it be
instructional or managerial in nature.
As an educator, my vision has been creating lifelong
learners that are competent, creative and critical thinkers. I see
to it that I become an efficient and effective educational leader
that establishes conducive and meaningful environment for my
learners and maintains positive and ideal relationship to my
colleague.
 To guide me in my vision, I establish my own leadership
style which are personal and relational.

• Socially Resourceful
I can communicate effectively and am comfortable on
one-on-one or with a large group. I truly believe that learning
from the experiences of others is an incredibly valuable
resource. In my class, I see to it that learning is reciprocal. My
learners learned something from me at the same time I learn
some experiences from them. Learning about other is valuable
tool. Exhibiting sincere interest in people empowers a leader
with knowledge, perspective, and insights they may not have
considered. In addition, others are likely to increase their
receptiveness to anything you have to say or hope to accomplish
when they sense your genuine interest in their point of view.
• Competitive with Myself
I constantly strive to learn more, accomplish more, and
set new goals. I am positive, out-going, and hard working. In a
team capacity, I am always compelled to ensure that my
contribution is authentic and meaningful to the team’s goal(s).
In addition, I try to exalt those around me by acknowledging
and valuing their accomplishments. I believe the most effective
teams view success as a shared experience. I expect from others
no more than what I expect from myself.

I believe that having a leadership style affects

organizational effectiveness on performance that is why I
establish my own leadership style.
 III. Learning

Educational leaders are tasked with a multitude of

responsibilities on a daily basis (Sheninger, 2011). In addition to
routine administrative duties including ongoing observations,
addressing parental and teacher concerns, handling discipline issues,
and the like, effective school leaders recognize their leadership style has
a direct correlation with their school’s culture and climate (Whitaker,
2012). Additionally, much research has demonstrated that the morale
among the teachers, faculty, and staff members of a school
is impacted by leadership style (Mason, 2007).
There are hundreds of leadership styles. As for me, I wanted to
know the effectiveness of the transformational leadership style.
 Transformational Leadership
• Transformational leaders are exceptional role models, and they
inspire others to go above and beyond job responsibilities (“What is
Transformational Leadership,” 2014). These leaders increase
expectations for their employees through intense motivation; thus,
achievement of extraordinary results is the norm.
• Transformational leaders are highly influential in motivating others
to work for the good of the group, and they are extremely effective at
convincing their subordinates to adopt a team vision. Additionally,
transformational leaders possess characteristics including empathy,
integrity, and honesty (Raza, 2011).
• Burns (1978) defined transformational leadership as a process where
leaders and followers engage in a mutual process of empowering one
another through value, self-awareness, charismatic actions and
motivations.
IV. Comparing and Contrasting

Leadership effectiveness and its influence can be

measured on performance, leadership behaviors and attitudes.
Both transformational leadership and my practiced leadership
style have the same characteristics:
• Have the characteristics of individual influence, spiritual
encouragement and intellectual simulation
• Take individual into consideration and establish vision
• Trust the followers to reach their goal
• Give full play for follower’s potential
• Concentrates on the development of followers as well as their
needs
• Uphold the interest of the followers once they generate
awareness and acceptance for the purpose of the assignment
of the group
However, my practiced leadership style and the transformational
leadership have contrasting view about leadership:
• Transformational leadership inspires by expecting the best from
everyone while my own established leadership style often takes me
too much things to do at one time and this stresses out those
around me because I set unrealistic expectation of others and I may
not get things done myself.
• Transformational leadership set clear goals while my own established
leadership style did not make decisive as I would like to be thus, it
slows down the decision making.
I agree in the effectiveness of the transformational leadership. A
transformational leaders have integrity, and high emotional intelligence.
They motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they
communicate well. They’re also typically self-aware, authentic,
empathetic, and humble. Transformational leaders inspire their team
members because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold
themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they
have good conflict-resolution skills. This leads to high productivity and
engagement.
V. Reflection/Synthesis

Knowing about different leadership styles is helping you

to find your own personal style. Recognizing your dominant
leadership style is a good place to start in understanding what
kind of leader you are. Knowing about other leadership styles,
and using them when necessary, is the next step in your
leadership evolution. It is important to recognize and develop
your own style, not trying to be someone else. Being true to
yourself, and confident with who you are will make you a good
leader.
As for me, I will continue to practice my leadership style
because it helps me becomes efficient and effective in my years
of practicing my profession. Moreover, I will also try to practice
the transformational leadership style to improve and develop my
leadership skills.
VI. Timeline for Changes

Being in a leadership role has its challenges. In the

current climate, leading for change in communities requires
specific skills and attributes in order to drive that change. In
other words, trying hard is just not good enough anymore!
Leading others through change effectively is a key
leadership capability because it enables organizations
to accelerate change initiatives and involve the entire
organization in identifying, implementing, and
sustaining important changes initiatives that will ensure the
organization’s long-term success. All leaders need the skills
to personally assimilate change, provide predictability, and help
others understand the reasons, advantages, and inherent risks
of change so they are fully engaged in the delivery of change
initiatives.
 Part of leading with bravery includes learning to be
adaptive to new circumstances. These could be changes in the
political, social, or economic landscape in which you are
working. It is about analyzing the culture in which you operate
and making decisions both sensitive to this culture and mindful
of your community’s end goals. Being adaptive is necessary for
leading your organizations and communities to thrive in
challenging environments. It involves being able, both
individually and collectively, to take on the difficult process of
change and hurdle the obstacles that get in the way.
Final Admission Number :
F18-0-000428
References

• Kouzes, J. M., Posner, B. Z. (August 23, 2010) The truth about

leadership. Jossey-Bass; 1 edition. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com
• Pink, D. H. (April 5, 2011) Drive: the surprising truth about
what motivates us. Riverhead Books. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com
• Kovač, H. (2017) Leadership Handbook. South East European
Youth Network. Retrieved from http://books.google.com
• Nanjundeswaraswamy T. S., Swamy D. R. (February 2, 2014)
Advancement of Management. JSS Academy of Technical
Education; Vol 2. Retrieved from http://books.google.com

Thank You!