LEADING AND MANAGING IN EDUCATION

Leading and Managing in Education

Trait Leadership Approach Leaders are born not made and leadership consists of certain intrinsic traits or qualities that a person has or has not (Adair , 2005

:9 The trait theory of leadership focuses on the personality , social , and physical traits of leaders that differentiate them from the followers (Doyle et al , 2001 . This theory claims that some men possess in-born capacity to lead that gives them a dominating influence over their contemporaries , and marks them out unmistakably for leadership (Adair 2005

:9 . According to Adair

this theory answers basic questions like Why is it that one person becomes a leader in a working group rather than another

Some men see things the way they are and ask why . I see things as they could be and ask why not (Bobby Kennedy , Former Attorney General of US , 1961 . This statement reflects individual qualities and personality traits possessed by a leader . The trait leadership approach focuses on the individual personality traits required functioning effectively as a leader (Mestenhauser et al , 2005 . This approach is very simple in nature and can be effectively used for identifying leaders . This theory dates back to the early 20th century when leadership traits were studied to determine what made some people leaders . The observations of the great leaders during the time and some of the common personality traits were identified to categorize an individual as a leader . The approach assumes that successful leaders are born with these traits . Such personality traits can be identified as intelligence , confidence dominance , determination , sociability , and honesty (Northouse , 2007

Trait leadership and its application to education

Educational institutions are the ideal places for breeding future leaders who possess and display the required traits that will define their roles in later years . Education , training and development involve different kinds of activities and result in different outcomes An ideal program to create leaders should incorporate all three educating participants to provide a knowledge base , training them to acquire the desired skills , and assisting them in developing insight into their own beliefs and values and their effect on others (Stech 2008

The success of an institution depends to a great degree on the institutional leadership that runs and manages the show on a daily basis . The principal of a school and the dean of a college have dual roles as educator and administrator , both of which require strong leadership qualities to be successful (Boyer , 1983 . All managers cannot be leaders while all leaders are not managers . This paradigm holds true in most institutions where individual traits are not given the maximum potential to grow and develop . Darling (1992 ) states leadership may come from personal enthusiasm , personal authority , credibility knowledge , skill or charisma it is derived from influence that the leader has on his followers ' His research work on educational leadership highlights that the tone of the school is mainly influenced by the behaviour and personality of the principal and this has profound effect on the institution 's attitude...