Leadership in Educational Management: An Adult Education Perspective

Introduction

Leadership is a critical function in educational management. Educational organisations and institutions require people who instil a sense of direction and vision into the activities that contribute to the achievement of goals. This text begins with definitions of leadership leading into an overview of leadership in educational management. The text attempts to show the impact of leadership in adult education and learning.

Educating is leading

Defining leadership

Robbins & Judge (2015:365) defines leadership as “The ability to influence a group towards achievement of a vision or set of goals.” Mullins (2005:281) defines leadership as “...a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people.” The major concern is not only on goals, but on how best to achieve them with the people available, their competency, teamwork, readiness, and cooperation as well as understanding. Leadership is also not about the managers’ positions, what they can offer, do or not do, but it also looks at environmental context, situations, processes and the people being led. Hersey & Blanchard in Velnampy (2007) define leadership as “...a function of, a leader, followers, situations and the context.” or a process that includes a leader, followers, situations and the context.

The leadership function: LP= ∑ (L, F, S, C);
LP= Leadership, L=Leader, F= Followers, S= Situation, C= Context

Leadership in educational management

Managers in educational organisations and institutions have a dual responsibility, that is a responsibility towards the work organisation and leading members of the organisation as well as a responsibility towards learners and educational activities. This dualization requires competence and effective leadership to achieve both organisation objectives and optimum learning outcomes. A distinction between management and leadership has no clear demarcations, but it should be noted that educational managers have a leadership role or function at various levels of managerial positions. Mullins & Christy (2013) differentiates management from leadership as dealing with structured responsibilities linked to goals and objectives of the organisation whilst leadership deals with the interpersonal qualities of a person to get things done by others. Management is a prescribed role whilst leadership is viewed as a virtue, quality or unique skill that is inherent or acquired.

Managers direct effort towards the set objectives and continually coordinate people’s effort within the framework of organisational values and norms whilst leaders, because of their passionate approach, personal orientation towards achievement, success or growth create, innovate and motivate others to achieve and own achievements. Managers usually want to preserve the status quo while leaders become uncomfortable with remaining the same, hence they seek new ways to develop and change.

If perceptions of organisational growth are limited, leaders feel compressed and eventually they cannot be contained because they are always seeking change and growth opportunities. However, management and leadership are closely related and sometimes it is very difficult to separate or compare the two, but if there can be agreement on the saying that ‘not every manager is a good leader or not every leader is a good manager’, then surely the two are different.

“The emphasis of leadership is on interpersonal behaviour in a broader context.” This brings in issues of motivation, teamwork, delegation, empowerment and the quality of communication, as well as managing and adjusting to change. Leadership is a reciprocal two-way process, which influences both individuals and organisational performance. Not all managers are good leaders, but leadership is an important ingredient in the management function.

Approaches to leadership

Leadership Styles 

Give credit where it is due (Mutambara on Mugabe)

Obedience is better than sacrifice


By Chijoko Edmore M.

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