Teachers As Organizational Leaders

For my Comm 3920 class I recently graded a case study in which students were asked to relate a video on leadership to concepts they have been learning from the textbook. Specifically this video, which I'll post below, features Simon Sinek discussing servant leadership.  The premise is simple yet unique in practice; a good leader cares more about the outcome of those he/she leads than the individual success they receive. Wanting some more theory behind this concept I decided to re-read that chapter of the textbook for the class. There is an important distinction between two types of organizational management styles that is strikingly similar to pedagogical theories we have been discussing. That's when I had the idea to look at teachers as organizational leaders, potentially blending my own experiences with my new ventures.

The two types of organizational leadership models are transactional and transformational. Transactional leadership requires a type of exchange of some sort between the leader and the followers. For example, a transactional manager of a team will exchange higher pay and the promise of upward mobility for hard work and productivity. This style of management is rooted in fear and danger of losing out on whatever the exchange promises. Sinek uses the example of a flight attendant being rude to passengers out of fear that if she doesn't enforce certain policies that she will lose her job. Those placing an emphasis on profit might see this as practical and "good business", but their short-sightedness fails to see their employees as the real asset they are to the company. Contrast this style with the transformational leadership model. Wonderfully described by Katherine Miller in the textbook, transformational leaders "create a relationship between leaders and followers that helps followers reach their full potential and has the potential for transforming both the leader and the follower" (Miller 2015). She then introduces the concept of exemplification, which within organizational leadership is the idea that a good leader exemplifies the traits and charateristics they want their followers to have. Developing a relationship, striving for followers to reach their full potential, and leading by example are all concepts that should be applied to teaching. 

If your Freire lightbulb hasn't already turned on then allow me to help out. The transactional model of management bears a strong resemblance to the banking model in that it is intrinsically oppressive by requiring action to receive a reward. Authority in this sense is solely held by the leader. Akin to the banking model in which "a teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined" (Freire 1970). Sinek makes the claim that whomever practices this may be an authority but they are no leader. The true leader will practice problem posing, transformational leadership, in which the followers and leader are transformed through a co-intentional process of knowledge creation.

Good teachers and good organizational managers should adopt the same leadership practices. After all, isn't a teacher trying to get their team (students) to increase productivity (knowledge) and collectively grow from their experiences? Freire might take issue with encouraging teachers to be like organizational managers, but by applying the transformational leadership model to teaching I'm encouraging both teachers and organizational managers to become servant leaders. As a student I rarely thought about which teachers were actively putting my interests before their own. I'm sure most probably did as teaching is largely a selfless profession, but by looking at it from this perspective it has helped me envision how I will teach; as a servant leader with the intention of empowering my students to reach their full potential.