The Transition Committee, Research Paper Example

In order to be effective, leaders must know how to initiate change at an organizational level. This district is restructuring and the Superintendent of Schools has just announced his resignation. The purpose of this paper is to prepare for the challenge of searching for a new superintendent by reviewing literature on what it takes to be a transformational leader who can affect organizational change. This paper explores the literature regarding what qualities a transformational leader must possess. This information is necessary to consider a superintendent to replace the former one.

This paper discusses the impact of organizational change by a transformational leader. A change in any organizational structure is bound to be a tense moment, however transformational leaders can step into positions and make the organization thrive. The purpose of this paper is to review the research on transformational leadership and what qualities it takes to be a transformational leader.

According to the Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, a transformational leader is one that has the ability to influence others and empower them to think outside of the box. Transformational leaders are willing to introduce bold new and controversial change to a stagnant organizational structure. Transformational leaders are not afraid of chastisement. Transformational leaders are those that bring out team work, creativity, responsibility, and the joy of getting a job done for the common good. A transformational leader is one that has a vision for the organization and is passionate about it. This person instills pride and trust in others under his/her role as a leader and mentor (Shanker, 2012).

A Superintendent of Schools needs to be a transformative leader because he/she needs to not only inspire the teachers, but he/she must be able to inspire students.  This is a relatively small task for someone who has the ability to bring about positive, forward-thinking, organizational change.  New visions in educational leadership are particularly welcome in today’s growing teaching challenges.  Both the teachers and the students need the motivation of an inspirational leader who is determined to make their lives more productive and personally fulfilling.

In recent article from International Management Review, there was a study published that talked about the behaviors that a transformational leader manifests. A transformational leader can be a developer, an interrogator, a standard bearer, and a vision builder (Bottomley, 2014)       . The study referenced such transformational leaders as Peter Drucker and others. The behavior that are listed above are useful in any industry, including an educational organization. The study talked about leadership alignment, and how it is vital for the leadership to have models of behavior. Isolating these for behaviors, the study said that a transformational leader generally starts out as a charismatic person (Bottomley, 2014).

In fact, the study says that there are also leaders who are transformational and visionary. The importance of choosing the leader cannot be overstated because it sets the stage of how the organization will function. Any good leader will have transformational and charismatic qualities, and this must be balanced with the needs of the organization. This study is not directly related to the educational arena, however, having these four behaviors make a leader a transformational one no matter what industry he or she is placed.

The Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies had an article that spoke about how transformational leaders can influence organizations. The interesting point of this study was that it pointed out that if a transformational leader is not kept in check, there are potential dangers for hiring such a powerful and influential person into an organization (Bolkan, 2009). However, the study indicates that this only happens on the rare occasion and for the most part, transformational leaders inspire, motivate, and encourage employees and in the case of an educational institution, the students and teachers.

The transformational leadership theory is very popular and the leadership arena ((Bolkan, 2009). There are many dimensions of how transformational leaders can influence organizations, however, this study only focuses on the single dimension of how transformational leaders influence or innovate. A transactional leadership style is different from the transformational leadership style because transformational leaders define the vision for the organization’s future rather than simply carrying out a blueprint plan created by someone else. Transactional leadership is based in bureaucracy in status quo (Bolkan, 2009).

In conclusion, transformational leadership can inspire organizations to create new ways of introducing curriculum, planning budgets, and innovative ways to teach new concepts to both teachers and students. Transformational leaders are generally vibrant and full of energy and excited to be working for an organization. An organization can feel like a team with a star coach if they hire a transformational leader. In fact, the positive attitude of the transformational leader will rub off on others within the organization producing a domino effect of positive emotions and vibrations occurring at the organizational level.

Works cited

Bolkan, S., & Goodboy, A. K. (2009). Transformational Leadership in the Classroom: Fostering Student Learning, Student Participation, and Teacher Credibility. Journal of Instructional Psychology,36(4), 296. Retrieved from Questia.

Bottomley, K., Burgess, S., & Fox, M. (2014). Are the Behaviors of Transformational Leaders Impacting Organizations? A Study of Transformational Leadership. International Management Review,10(1), 5. Retrieved from Questia.

Shanker, M., & Sayeed, O. B. (2012). Role of Transformational Leaders as Change Agents: Leveraging Effects on Organizational Climate. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(3), 470. Retrieved from Questia.