Week 8
Discussion Replies: Teachers as Leaders
As you read over the postings of other students, select two that you can strongly identify with personally, one positively and one negatively.
How would you compare these experiences and outcomes with your own? How are your experiences with power and influence in teaching and/or leading similar and dissimilar? What do your common experiences tell you about the nature of power and influence? What do you learn about the power of teaching as leadership?
Jeri Oneill
Jeri Oneill
YesterdayFeb 22 at 6:47pm
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Discussion Thread Week 7: Teachers as Leaders
Good afternoon team, in completing this week’s input, two leadership illustrations were depicted. Initially, the discussion presented a positive example of an influential leader. Then, an example of an influential negative leader was provided.
Positive leaders seem to embrace lifelong learning but also day-to-day teaching, such as mentoring moments. They are always looking for ways to impart and communicate, to mentor and teach those entrusted to their leadership. They are teachers by nature. This student’s example of a leader who reflected positive influence was this type of person, a natural mentor who started out as a superior and mentor, then a peer and now a life-long friend. She was an expression of French and Ryan’s legitimate and reward power types in my time working under her charge. Legitimate power “is actual authority (or power) an individual holds in a formal organization based on a predetermined hierarchical structure” (Kovach, 2020, p. 5). As the officer in charge (OIC), she prioritized a positive environment conducive to high performance and mission accomplishment. “The intention [in employing French and Raven’s reward power] is to create a positive environment within the workplace that serves to motivate employees” (Kovach, 2020, p. 6). The OIC achieved this through operational envisioning and tactical encouragement. She also equipped her employees with the tools needed to succeed and removed unnecessary barriers blocking their paths.
Conversely, negative leaders can be barriers in their employee’s paths. Through discouragement and diffused vision, they create an unfavorable environment. When people have negative perceptions about their work and their workspace, their energy and motivation are zapped, potentially impacting their performance. This was an illustration of coercive power which “is the ability to penalize others or remove a positive element” (Kovach, 2020, p. 6). This student’s negative leader example was also legitimate in that he was officially assigned to his position. However, he demonstrated coercive power. He expressed his emotions freely and loudly. His primary emotion was anger; he yelled first and asked questions later. He was heard yelling at employees from one end of the hallway to the other. As a result, interactions with him were avoided or guarded, morale was low and performance suffered.
Negative power is not leadership. There is amazing power in positive leadership. One of this student’s leadership principles was to take something positive from every experience whether the experience itself was positive or negative. With this principle, aspiring leaders can learn as much from a negative leadership example as a positive one. An important reminder is to not let negative leadership pervade one’s positive leadership endeavors and to lead “heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (New King James Version, 1982, Colossians 3:23). Have a great week and God bless!
References
Kovach, Mary (2020). Leader influence: A research review of French & Raven’s (1959) Power Dynamics. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership (13) 2 , Article 15. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.22543/0733.132.1312
New King James Version (1982).
https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-King-James-Version-NKJV-Bible/
Paolo Santos
11:40amFeb 23 at 11:40am
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Positive Example
This author was involved in a mountain biking club whose leaders exercised referent power. The organization held group rides, trail workdays, and races. The organization was a 501(c)(3) and a key advocate for establishing more trails in the state. Leaders have referent power because of who they are and how they lead (Bredfeldt, n.d.). French and Raven (1959) describe this identification as a feeling of oneness of the follower with the leader, a desire for such an identity, and a desire to become more closely associated with the leader. In the case of an attractive group, the follower will have a feeling of membership and a desire to join (French & Raven, 1959). If close association already exists, there will be a desire to maintain the relationship (French & Raven, 1959). Referent power has its basis in my identification with the mountain biking club to encourage outdoor physical activity and trail advocacy.
Negative Example
In clinical laboratory settings, individuals need many years of experience before they can qualify for and assume leadership roles. Federal guidelines and accreditation agencies require technical competencies from team leaders, supervisors, managers, and directors. These leaders are held accountable to have the necessary knowledge and expertise required within the scope of their role in the laboratory. In this author’s previous workplace, it was typical for employees to put in 15-20 years of technical experience before stepping into their first leadership role.
The individuals with official leadership roles within the laboratory are exercising legitimate power and expert power. Legitimate power is defined as that power which stems from the leader’s legitimate right to influence the follower and that the follower has an obligation to accept this influence (French and Raven, 1959). The individuals with legitimate power are appointed and entrusted with a role (Bredfeldt, n.d.). Their expert power is the result of years of experience in the industry. Although the technical competencies are well developed in the individuals promoted to leadership positions, leadership competencies may be very minimal or non-existent. A transactional environment was nurtured as people are simply commanded and told what to do. Teaching was not a priority. Information power brought about withholding knowledge. It was believed that not doing so may result in losing some of their power to their subordinates. Bredfeldt (2006) contends that, “Competence without character can lead to bad leadership” (p. 113). There are instances where there is an incompetent leader who has high moral integrity. In this laboratory setting, leadership competencies need more emphasis for the appointed leaders to fulfill their roles effectively.
References
Bredfeldt, G. (2006). Great leader, great teacher: Recovering the biblical vision for leadership. Moody Publishing.
Bredfeldt, G. (n.d.). CLED780: Change, power, and conflict in leadership. Week seven, lecture one. The Six Power Bases of Leadership. Liberty University.
French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). University of Michigan.
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