Educational Leadership

Dr M Manjunath Shettigar

A. Definition of
Educational
Leadership
B. Philosophy of
Leadership in
Education
C. Principles of

What Is
Educationa
l
Leadership

Educational Leadership

is a term applied
to school
administrations
that strive to
create positive
change in

Educational leaders are

trained to advance and
improve educational
systems or institutions.
Educational leaders usually
are employed as school
principals or administrators
but take on additional
roles, such as department
chair or academic dean.

Philosophy of Leadership in
Education
Why is a Philosophy of Leadership Important?

Philosophy is "the rational investigation of

the truths and principles of being,
knowledge or conduct." Philosophy is the
attainment of an integrated,
comprehensive view of life, of vital
importance. Furthermore, "values, ethics
and virtues are actually secondary. . ." to
the absolute necessity to couch these
attributes within a personal philosophy.

Vision

The first element to

consider in developing
a philosophy of
leadership. One of the
best general
descriptions of vision is
that vision must be

Values

Values serve as our

moral compass to
guide every soldier,
from private to
general, through the
maze of intellectual,
philosophical and

Leader Development

You should include

three essential leaderdevelopment
components in your
leadership philosophy:
formal schooling,
leader training within

Managing Change
Anyone who has ever
tried to initiate
organizational change has
probably heard, "We tried
that and it didnt work" or
"We have always done it
this way." Change is not
always easy for an

Diversity
One area of leadership
philosophy often overlooked
is the strength of leveraging
diversity in our
organizations. Men and
women, of various ethnic,
racial, religious
backgrounds and

Maintain a Sense of
Humor
Although having a sense
of humor is not a theme in
everyones philosophy of
leadership, I believe it is
important and extremely
healthy for a positive
command climate. You have
to know how to laugh,

Principles of Leadership
1. Know yourself and seek
self-improvement.
2. Be technically
proficient.
3. Seek responsibility and
take responsibility for
your actions.

4. Make sound and

timely decisions.
5. Set the example.
6. Know your people
and look out for
their well-being.

7. Keep your
people informed.
8. Develop a sense
of accountability,
ownership and
responsibility in
your people.

9. Ensure that tasks

are understood,
supervised, and
accomplished.
10. Train your
people as a team.

Functions of Leadership
Educational leaders work to
improve educational programming.
They hire and manage teachers
and staff, prepare budgets, set
curriculum standards and set
school-wide policy. They might
work on team building efforts or
restructure the organization to
affect necessary change.

The leader as executive

top co-ordinator of
the group activities
and overseer of the
execution of
policies.

The leader as planner

deciding the
ways and menas by
which the group
achieves its ends.
This may involve
both short-term

The leader as policy

maker

the
establishment
of group goals
and policies.

The leader as expert

a source of readily
available information
and skills, although
there will be some
reliance on technical
expertise and advice

The leader as external

group representitive

the official
spokesperson for the
group, the
representative of the
group and the

The leader as controller

of internal relations

determines
specific aspects
of the group
structure.

The leader as perveyor

of rewards and
punsihment

control over group

members by the
power to provide
rewards and apply
punishments.

The leader as
arbitrator and
meditator

controls
interpersonal
conflict within
the group.

The leader as exemplar

a model of
behaviour for
members of the
group, setting an
example of what

The leader as symbol

of the group
enhancing group
unity by providing
some kind of cognitive
focus and establishing
the group as a distinct
entity.

The leader as substitute

for individual
responsibility

relieves the
inividual member
of the group from
the necessity of,
and responsibility

The leader as ideologist

serving as the
source of beliefs,
values and standards
of behaviour for
individual members
of the group.

The leader as father

figure

serving as the
focus for the
positive emotional
feelings of
individual members
and the object for

The leader as scapegoat

serving as a
target for
agression and
hostility of the
group, accepting