1. West Virginia 21st Century Leadership Institute
Transformational Leadership: Understanding the Knowledge and Applying the Concepts
West Virginia 21st Century Leadership Institute
November, 2008
Jerry Valentine

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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, )

6. 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.

7. James McGregor Burns
Leadership (1978) seminal book conceptualized transformational leadership
Explains and contrasts leadership as
“transactional” or
“transformational”

8. 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

9. 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

10. Burns: Transactional and Transformational Leadership Compared
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 self-esteem, 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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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…

14. 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.

15. 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…

16. 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)

17. 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

18. Leithwood’s 2006 Model of Leadership
Four Primary functions of Leadership
Setting Direction
Developing People
Redesigning the Organization
Managing the Instructional (Teaching/Learning) Program

19. 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)

20. 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)

21. 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)

22. 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)

23. The following slides provide examples of principal behavior from the Principal Leadership Questionnaire developed by Jantzi and Leithwood, 1996.

24. 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.

25. Examples of Transformational Principal Behaviors
Models Behavior
Leads by “doing” rather than simply by “telling.”
Exemplifies success and accomplishment within the profession of education.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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?

31. 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?

32. Use the following Scenario if time…

33. 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 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.

34. 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…