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Benchmark – Leadership Style and Philosophy

Mary McVey

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD-501: Educational Administration: Foundations for the Developing Leader

Dr. Karla Carlson

October 21, 2020

Explanation of Personal Values and Beliefs

Happiness is the driving force behind all I do, both personally and professionally. While

the pursuit of happiness has in itself almost become a cliché goal, it is still the main concept that

gets me out of bed every morning. Before I began my journey in the field of education, I worked

for a corporate office where happiness was far from anyone’s minds. Our goals were set for us

by cold, dictatorial managers that emphasized profit over people. My work felt shallow and my

Christian values had to be put aside in order to compete in such a corrupt environment. It was at

my breaking point that I heard God’s voice reminding me of the importance of honesty, making

a positive difference in this world, and open communication.

Now that I am teaching full-time and am able to combine all of these values, I want to

make all those around me as happy as I am and share these blessings. As a future leader, I will be

responsible for creating a community where people feel nurtured and encouraged. I want my

faculty to feel confident and know that I trust them fully. I want my students to know the leader

of their school personally and feel comfortable coming up to me with questions. Most of all, I

want my leadership to positively impact the happiness of all those that set foot on my campus. I

will always put honesty first and try to make decisions that help the greater good, instead of just

myself. I will consider myself successful once I know that everyone under me truly believes that

I always have their best interests at heart.

Leadership Style Aligned

While I personally believe that servant leadership is my main philosophy, both

transactional and transformational leadership will play an important role in my future as I feel a

combination of all three styles will serve me best. Servant leadership, the philosophy that I most

strongly align with, “emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers,
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empathize with them, and nurture them” (Northouse, 2019, pg.227). It aligns almost exactly with

my expressed value of honesty and in my innate desire to make others happy. Empathy for others

is a driving force in my decision making, as I often do not make a choice without considering

how it will affect all of those involved. Most importantly, “servant leadership substantiates the

truth that through service to others, while leading others, individuals fulfill a longing for living

virtuous lives” (Hylen & Willian, 2020). This is significant because it allows me to still maintain

my Christian values.

The practice of transactional leadership sees leaders “exchange things of value with

followers to advance their own and their followers’ agendas” (Northouse, 2019, pg. 206). While

this sounds a bit impersonal, it is still an important part of motivational techniques. Many in

education simply love the work they do; however, we are still human and can often be motivated

by material items. The promise of rewards, promotions, and raises have their place and will still

be a tool I use in my leadership style. While servant leadership promotes intangible rewards,

transactional leadership “makes clear what actions and roles followers must take to achieve

goals” (Kark, Dijk, & Vashdi, 2017). Sometimes it will be necessary to just set clear, attainable

goals that provide my employees with a quick boost of satisfaction.

Transformational leadership “is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and

long-term goals” and “includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating

them as full human beings” (Northouse, 2019, pg. 196). While this can easily be aligned with my

core values and current practice of servant-leadership, it at first glance seems contradictory to

transactional leadership. Since being a transactional leader means putting an emphasis on things

rather than people, it seems difficult to combine them successfully. However, according to a

recent study, “transformational leadership and contingent verbal rewards increased employee
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motivation” (Nielson, Boye, Holten, Jacobsen, & Anderson, 2019). By making the transactional

rewards more about internal emotions and not just external influencers, such as money, data

shows that the two can be combined in leadership. My leadership style will be a combination of

all three, but with an emphasis on being an empathetic servant first.

Integrity and Fairness COE 5.1 ELCC 5.1; PSEL 2b, 2c; MC3, MC4, MC5

Using a combination of leadership styles, it will be my goal to earnestly promote

“integrity, fairness, transparency, trust, collaboration, perseverance, learning, and continuous

improvement” (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015). As a servant

leader, I will put my students’ and faculty members’ needs first and always communicate with

them in an open, honest, and empathetic way. I will value their emotions and ensure that my

daily decisions provide an environment rooted in equity.

As a transactional leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure that each material

item is awarded fairly, openly, and to those that truly deserve it. There will be absolutely no

room for error in this practice as even one action of bribery, extortion, or unethical trade of

goods can dismantle the integrity that my school will be built on. While there is nothing

inherently wrong with wanting material possessions, it will be my responsibility as a leader to

hire and retain people that place the intangible values of happiness and Christian-like behavior

above all else.

As a transformational leader, my main concern will be overall emotional, mental, and

spiritual health. I want to transform lives for the better and will only lead in a way that creates a

happier and more comfortable learning environment. By encouraging, trusting, and believing in

all those I supervise, self-efficacy will be at the forefront of everything. It will be my daily duty

to set an example of impenetrable integrity and fair leadership.

Model of Effective and Inspirational Leadership

According to our class textbook, “as a result of leadership failures in the public and

private sectors, authentic leadership is emerging in response to societal demands for genuine,

trustworthy, and good leadership” (Northouse, 2019, pg. 222). My philosophy of combining

servant, transactional, and transformational leadership styles is an opportunity to answer this call

for more genuine leaders. By combining all three, I can keep my Christian values at the core of

my decision making, while still being a leader rooted in reality. By being open to different

approaches and by being flexible, I will address the various needs of all of those under me. Each

person is different in their wants and motivations, and it is important for a leader to be able to

meet the needs of everyone. By being a servant leader, I am ensuring that all I do is inspired by

empathy and integrity. However, I cannot assume that everyone will be pleased with only

emotional boons, as some people require more concrete items for motivation. By also being a

transactional leader, I can offer these certain people material rewards. As a transformational

leader, my long-term goals will be centered on the overall happiness of my school and on

ensuring that their needs are met, whatever that means for each individual. I believe that it is

with this unique combination of all three leadership styles that I will be the most effective leader

possible and usher in an age of compassion, reason, and integrity in my school. This emerging

model, once tested and successfully implanted, might prove to be the inspirational leadership that

my faculty and staff are truly in need of today.

References

Hylen, M. G., & Willian, L. (2020). SERVANT LEADERSHIP PRINCIPAL PREPARATION:

Christian University Perspective. Journal of Character Education, 16(1), 13-26.

Kark, R., Dijk, D. V., & Vashdi, D. R. (2017). Motivated or Demotivated to Be Creative: The

Role of Self-Regulatory Focus in Transformational and Transactional Leadership

Processes. Applied Psychology, 67(1), 186-224. doi:10.1111/apps.12122

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders [PDF]. Reston, VA.

Nielson, P. A., Boye, S., Holten, A., Jacobsen, C. B., & Anderson, L. B. (2019). Are

transformational and transactional types of leadership compatible? A two‐wave study of

employee motivation. Public Administration, 97(2), 413-428.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.