[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6010, Response to Question #1

[Nicholas Turon]

*Jessica,I appreciate your concise and effective response. I am interested
in the source you brought up stating the three components of effective
leadership and your connection that the first component -- a focus on the
achievements and accomplishments of the organization -- relates to the
managerial side of principalship. It is this crossover I would like to
explore.I think a misplaced negative connotation surrounds a person in
power focusing on results. I picture a floorman at a factory yelling at
workers to pick up the pace or customer support supervisors monitoring the
number of seconds each worker spends on the phone with callers. I picture
the people in power being cold to circumstances and uncaring toward their
subordinates. The scenarios I picture are overwhelmingly negative, however,
on further contemplation it is not the focus on results that is cause of
“badness” for lack of a better term. It is that the results they are
focusing on are too narrow.As you mentioned in your original answer,
Jessica, an effective leader needs to focus on all 4 lenses: structural,
human, political, and symbolic. The “leadership responsibilities” in part
are just another way of saying the symbolic and human whereas the
managerial responsibilities are primarily structural and (possibly)
political. If the people in charge in the previous examples were to expand
their definitions of success to include all four elements they would not
default to the negative tactics of micromanaging or yelling as stated above
and surely would be more effective leaders. More to my point, once they
adopted the full scope of leadership, they wouldn’t just “forget” results,
but rather expand their picture of success to be inclusive of the complete
leadership lense (structural, human, symbolic, and political).In
conclusion, I believe focusing on results should not be seen as a negative
thing at all. Additionally, only focusing on success is just fine too as
long as your definition of success includes all 4 elements of
leadership.P.S. Attached infographic by
Drake:---------------------------------------Jessica’s Original AnswerA
principal might be well-served to address both managerial and leadership
aspects of administration because both managers and leaders display
qualities that are vital to the effectiveness of an organization and an
administration. For example, stakeholders value an effective manager for
several positive qualities, such as his or her logical mind, willingness to
strategize, and drive to ensure tasks are accomplished according to a plan.
However, those same stakeholders may also notice drawbacks of the manager,
which could include risk aversion that ultimately leads to the organization
being stuck in the status quo; an environment of competition that does not
build strong relationships among subordinates or between a subordinate and
the manager; and high concern for outcomes and production rather than a
concern for people which can lead stakeholders to feel isolated and
unwanted. These managers often neglect the leadership aspects of their
responsibilities, which include care and concern for subordinates,
maximizing the potential of the organization’s people, and pursuing unity
and cohesion so that all stakeholders in the organization can improve the
organization through pursuing a shared vision. One source notes that there
are three main components to effective leadership: the achievements or
accomplishments of the organization, the perception of how others view the
leader, and the overall satisfaction of subordinates. It could be argued
that the first criterion listed is related to an effective manager; an
effective manager is task-oriented, seeks to achieve outcomes, and displays
the structural perceptual lens and transactional style. On the other hand,
the latter two criteria are related to leadership; an effective leader will
likely have strong relationships with subordinates, displaying the human
resource and symbolic perceptual lenses and transformational style, and
when the subordinates experience the leader’s concern for them, it is
likely that they will be more satisfied. In short, a principal must
demonstrate elements of both a manager and a leader, and a principal’s
ability to adapt to his or her specific situations by applying the various
management and leadership aspects will directly impact the effectiveness of
his or her administration. *

*Nicholas Turon*
Director of Bands
Paint Valley Local Schools
nicholas.turon at gmail.com
(740)-816-8266
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