Teach Middle East Magazine Jan - Mar 2020 Issue 2 Volume 7 | Page 10

Sharing Good Practice
TRANSFORMING THE SCHOOL CULTURE
USING POWERFUL LEADERSHIP STYLES
BY: SHEELA GEORGE
key to success in leadership. The
team members should be made
comfortable in expressing their
thoughts, they should be made aware
of everything that is a part of the
business strategy. The main focus of
school leadership should be; seeking
responsibility and taking responsibility,
making sound and timely decisions
, knowing the people and seeking to
look after their wellbeing.
G
ood leaders are not born
but are made by; learning,
unlearning,
experiencing
challenges, opportunities and
finding solutions for every situation that
they come across. Building positive
relationships, collaborating with the
team members, resolving conflicts
with patience and perseverance, are
the main traits that enable a school
leader to build a positive culture within
a school.
The example set by the Principal,
ripples through the entire culture
and brings out the desired positive
outcome. All stakeholders look upon
the best practices established and
get motivated with the initiatives
taken, towards the progress and
development of the school.
Self-awareness and grooming oneself
overtime to solve issues, using self-
regulatory techniques at crucial times
and being clear in decision –making
processes, are the important elements
in leadership.
The head of the school should work
with his or her school leadership
team. Brainstorming with the team on
decisions made towards the progress
of the school yields the best results.
Every team member’s views or opinions
should be respected and valued, while
the common good points should be
taken into consideration for the good
of everyone. Positive comments and
a word of praise goes a long way to
make each team member know that
they are valued.
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Term 2 Jan - Mar 2020
When team managers feel dis-
empowered, they shall exert power
over others who they feel are under
their control. The impact of this can
result in power struggles between the
staff.
A school leader should introspect
and find answers to certain questions
and seek ways of responding to them
honestly.
Do staff members have
access to meet and discuss their issues?
How many times have the ancillary
staff met with the school leader? If the
answer is never, then as a leader one
needs to find a way of addressing this.
To build a positive culture in the
school, effective school leaders
ought to acknowledge their areas of
weaknesses and speak openly about
both their desire to improve and a
willingness to collaborate in doing so.
As all stakeholders look up to the
leadership skills of the Principal for
their wellbeing and the organization’s
objectives to be achieved, it is essential
that the right leadership styles are used
to bring the best out of everyone.
Team members should feel at ease to
be guided by those they respect and
who have a clear sense of direction.
Effective
communication
is
the
A range of leadership styles tends to
become more effective in different
situations. No one leadership style or
approach works well in every situation.
Instructional leadership is given the
top priority to encourage educational
achievement and improve student
performance, this leadership style
does put the learning at the center of
everything the leaders do. Students
learning comes first.
Pygmalion leadership style is used
to encourage leaders, managers and
other staff to perform at their very
best. School leaders use various forms
of leadership styles such as; servant
leadership,
situational
leadership,
democratic leadership, courageous
leadership, transactional leadership
and other leadership styles as required,
to run the organization successfully.
The fundamental starting point for
a school leader is to have a good
understanding of staff, their needs,
emotions, attributes and motivation.
Successful schools have leaders
and managers who are consistently
setting high standards, visions and
goals, across the entire spectrum and
continuously evaluating the outcome.
Various forms of leadership styles are
used to keep employees happy and
energetic enough, to achieve the goals
of the organisation.
Leadership is not about being in
charge. Leadership is about taking care
of those in your charge - Simon Sinek.
Ms. Sheela George, Principal of ASPAM IIS, is an educationist with over 28
years of experience. She is a positive & creative thinker. Ms. George has
attended numerous Educational Conferences across the US & Australia . Besides
developing innovative sustainable practices, Ms. George is passionate about
training teachers and mentoring students ,to build leaders of tomorrow.
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