Assignment:
Discuss a delination of hybrid leadership styles as presented in the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey.
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Vannsimpco Leadership SurveyCOLLAPSE
The Vannsimpco Leadership survey seeks to encompass a valid statistical measure of leadership styles that, "encompasses a variety of leadership factors without bias or an emphasis on one leadership factor, or one workplace setting" (Van, Coleman, Simpson, 2014, p. 30). The article discusses how bias exists in many leadership studies and how leaders actually use hybrid methods. These methods of leadership each have their uniqueness and applicability, but can be blended into a style based on each different situation (situational leadership).
The article gives a very concise yet detailed description of various leadership styles. Below they are described briefly based on the article:
Transformational- Leaders promote change in an organization through their charisma. This style assumes change is preferable to the status quo.
The article points out some excellent ideas. First, change is not always required. In my educational setting we do not always need the latest iPad version or technological upgrade. I primarily teach mathematics and research supports pencil and paper over technology any day of the week for true and valid understanding and applicability. Second, a leader with charisma can use "emotional manipulation" for "less than desirable reasons." Not to be too negative, but the public school system is plagues with administrators who use this form of leadership solely for their personal gain.
Transactional- Leaders here are task-oriented with a preference for a rewards-punishment scenario at work, typically financial.
The article points out, and rightly so, that if rewards are small this system is flawed. I like that the article does point out that is the rewards are worthwhile, the system works as a motivating factor. What the article missed is some of the extraneous variables in the reward system. The age, health, familial status, etc. of each individual plays the most important role in this system. If one has several children at home or a spouse that is chronically ill or one is in their late sixties, a reward system probably will not be a motivating factor.
Democratic- In this, leaders seek input and opinions from those they lead. A less formal structure is the characteristic of this style.
The article makes a key point of how some leaders pose as this but only to appease employees. Are the leaders that do this autocrats in disguise?
Autocratic-The leaders employing this style make all the decisions themselves. These leaders draw a distinct line between themselves and those underneath them in an organization.
It was refreshing to see the authors of the article point out the benefits of this style: expectations were clear, employees not seeking to make leadership decisions like this style, and allows a focus for those who are professional experts in their fields.
Laissez-faire-Leaders in this style let their employees do their jobs since they are experts. The leader can then take a more active role in the overall organization of the company or school. The problem arises when the leader is too uninvolved and the day-to-day running of the organization suffers.
- The article makes the valid point of how organizations with competent and motivated employees can thrive from this type of leadership. To me, I think of a public school in an affluent area (statistically there are fewer outside issues brought into the school setting thus allowing staff to solely focus on education).
Situational- This style is where the leader blends various aspects of leadership together depending on the situation. It is realized that each situation demands a different style, not just one.
- The article points out the real-world applicability of this style. However, the article fails to mention that this style assumes the leader can do two things in situations: 1. Realize what style of leadership is needed-instantly 2. Know enough about differing styles of leadership to effectively deal with the situation at hand.
The article talks about how transactional, transformational, and laissez-faire styles are the most widely comprehended. I would agree on this point. The authors discuss how the backgrounds, especially academic backgrounds, of leaders affect their style of leadership. This is very important because prior experience, admittedly or not, affects one's behavior, attitude, and interactions with others. An example of this might be how a leader, a principal in a middle school suggests to teacher show to deal with student with ADHD or like classifications (OHI or ODD). The back ground of a principal directly affects their leadership style in handling this common occurrence in classrooms.
According to Cho & Cho Blair (2017), strategies should focus on preventative behaviors not response strategies (p. 230). If a principal has a background that leans more towards a transactional then they might suggest more response behaviors (reward system) to influence behaviors. If a principal leans more towards transformational, they would suggest using more preventative strategies. A third option is that if a principal is laissez-faire in their leadership approach, they would suggest to the teacher to use whatever they deem best. Yet a fourth option is a principal who wants to blend an autocratic and situational leadership style and take each student, one by one, and dictate each individual plan.
I would like to take the survey and see where I score, but I did not see a scoring too.
Su-Je Cho, & Kwang-Sun Cho Blair. (2017). Using a Multicomponent Function-Based Intervention to Support Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Special Education, 50(4), 227-238.
Vann, Barry, Coleman, Aaron & Jennifer Simpson. Development of the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey: A delineation of hybrid leadership styles. University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, KY. 2014.