Shazlina Munazmi Hairi Our leadership experiences are coloured by the people who have the biggest infuences in our lives. Our fathers taught us to have respect to all around us, to have courage to stand our ground, to have discipline to pursue our goals in life and to have faith when things are falling apart. While our mothers taught us the greatness of love, the importance of trust and the significance of understanding. In addition, our teachers showed us the effects of not having the right skills, not behaving the right way and not knowing where youre going.
One picture tells a thousand stories. A risky, challenging, adrenaline-driven and dangerous sport. Divided into different types of climbing, Traditional (Trad), free-solo, sport, bouldering, ice climbing, etc. Requires emotional and physical strength, control and finesse (Brain, 2003) Have different levels of difficulties, depending on the routes or paths of the climb. Needs skills, experience and special equipment such as Pros, camming device, harness, belay rope, etc. The basis of our leadership paradigm. Trad rock climbing is adventure climbing done without pre-placed anchors and protection gear. Involves two or more climbers, leader and belayer(s). Leader climbs and put protection gears for the belayer while the belayer belays the rope to avoid leader from falling. Focuses strongly on exploration and appreciating the nature Success of the climb is not about being able to reach the top, but on being able to handle the emotional and physical limitations while progressing. Collins (2003) stated climbers either faced fallure or failure. Climbers have certain skills:- leading and finding routes, placing removable gear, managing rope, decision-making, and anchoring. All climbers have to able to lead the climb everyones a potential leader. The leader elected by the other climbers based on experience and knowledge of the climbing routes, and familiarity with level of difficulties and type of surfaces. Leader and belayer(s) need to have total trust and a strong bond among each other. Follows certain code of ethics, leader must not fall and leave no trace (Green, 2013). Northouse (2010) Leadership in an organization can be defined as: a process to influence others to achieve the organizations goals and deliver its vision. Since it is focused on vision its all about the future focus Seek to find new opportunities for individual & organization to become successful Transformational Leadership Developed by Downton (1973) popularity is due to the emphasis on intrinsic motivation & follower development. Fits the need of TRC climbers need to be inspired and empowered to suceed in times of uncertainty. (e.g: different route difficulties, treacherous hill & slopes and harsh weather) TRC leaders need to have a high set of values & a self- determined sense of identity a role model for other team members ( adapt to changes & learn to control their emotion, values, ethics and standards.)
A distributed leadership is primarily concerned with mobilizing leadership at all levels in the organisation not just relying on leadership from the top (Northouse, 2010) Similar to TRC, everyone in the team has the same skills & power as both the leader & the belayer. There will be no permanent anchor with absolute or certain power leading the rest of the climbers. Equal interactions between all, rather than the actions of an individual leader. Showing a strong trait of a Cowboy leader TRC climbers strongly believe in their code of ethics that include leader must not fall (Green, 2013) and no trace while climbing. (cowboyethics.org) In this code, doing the right thing is not something you can mandate or legislate, it can only be inspired through their belief that is to be safe all the time & preserving the nature. Greenleaf (1977) a leader is a servant first, an attitude that flows from a deep rooted, natural inclination to serve others. Similar to TRC a leaders main concern is to make sure that the safety of his team is guaranteed. A leader also incorporates trust by allowing others to share responsibilities and opinions during the expedition to ensure everybodys safety. Another crucial element encourage, support & enables subordinates to unfold their full potentials & abilities in TRC. Northouse (2010) path-goal leaders should act in various situations if they want to be effective. Especially true in TRC a leader should inform the subordinates on when to be directive, supportive, participative or achievement oriented as there are various obstacles or rock surfaces they have to face during expedition. Besides that, a leader needs to continuously assess the team members & the task they are about to perform. Northouse (2010) Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. It is not a linear, one-way event, but rather and interactive event. However, your success may depend on how well your leadership characteristics match those that your group values. If trust is a quality that is highly valued, then a leader must be viewed as a trustworthy person.
Influence & inspire must be able to influence & inspire people to accomplish a goal, or an objective of an organization. Vision must be visionary & have a clear sense of purpose for the organization. Trust a leader must be trustworthy; can be measured from the trust & confidence the subordinates have on the leader.
Communication the vision, goals, knowledge & technical expertise must be clearly communicated and imparted to all the people in an organization. Intuition effective leaders are intuitive or possess instinctive knowledge to make successful decisions. Introducing our paradigm Definition: A process in which a person connects with others through mutual understanding, shared skills and great sense of trust. Success is determined by how they work towards the shared goals rather than the goals itself. Goals only achieved when everyone in the team reaches the top. Leaders and followers developed great sense of trust. Leader trusts the followers skills and followers trust the leaders decision. The leader fulfill and satisfy the followers need by providing clear path, motivations, initiating changes in ways of working, consulting the followers when situations demanded. Influences his followers with expert power skills and knowledge on the work to be done and the goals to achieve. Acquires 4 leadership styles (Goleman, 2000) authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching styles. These styles promotes positive working atmosphere, trust, commitment and loyalty among the followers and towards the leader. Able to communicate, create strong emotional bond, and motivate the followers towards achieving the goals. Authoritative sets clear goal and visions. Exudes self-confidence and empathy Becomes the agent of change Makes planned or drastic decisions to ensure teams survival
Democratic Empowers the followers in decision-making process Trusts the followers ability as strong supporters Encourages followers creativity and freedom while working towards the goals.
Affiliative Holds the principle People come first (Goleman, 2000) Values individuals and their emotions than reaching the goal Urges followers to give their best and put their safety and needs as priority. Create harmony and strong emotional bond with followers. Communicate, share ideas and inspirations Doesnt have strict rules that limited followers capabilities Masters in building sense of belonging Coaching Expert in tackling the challenges Helps members in identifying personal strengths and weaknesses. Inspires and envisions the followers to try new ways Delegates the members to work on challenging tasks Assists and facilitates members to develop long-term development goals and the plans to attain them. Holds the principle the way you work towards the goal is a goal in itself emphasis on efforts executed to reach the goal than the goal itself. Provide meaningful feedback and instruction Compromise short-term failures as long as learning is involved in the process. Followers have:- High sense of trust among members and towards the leader High commitment to the job and the teams survival Great sense of belonging Clear view of the goals and the ways to achieve them Parts in decision-making when needed Potential to become leaders themselves Great collaboration among team members Opportunities to demonstrate creativity and freedom in working towards the goals. Abilities to acquire necessary skills and knowledge by learning from mistakes. Intense loyalty towards the team, the teams goal and the leader. The leader initiates the journey, maps out route The followers follow according to route Leader and followers help each other out Teamwork is based on good rapport between team members Rope = bond of trust The Schools Goals The Principal (Leader) The Teachers (Belayers) The Challenges: Surrounding/environment Classroom/facilities Students Rules Technology Relationship/Trust (Rope) The principal acts as the leader, while the teachers are the belayers (followers) The surface of the rock (climbing route) the path/challenges that both principal and teachers have to take - it can be easy or difficult. The principal and teachers have to help each other (both parties have skills & techniques) - teamwork To reach the goals, both principals and teachers have to climb need relationship based on trust (bond) Goals are shared top of the climb Identify Milestones Check Progress Adapt to Changes Define Routes Set Aim Shared Achievement A TRC leader will: Have good starting point Know when to start and how to start Projected clear aims/goals to his followers Able to communicate with followers Realize that bigger goals usually start with smaller, attainable goals
A TRC leader will: Give clear instructions Move followers towards common goals Have well planned routes to achieve common goals Create bond of trust with followers.
A TRC leader will: Be prepared Have contingency plans in case things go wrong Adapt to changes when the situation demands it Trust followers to make important decisions for the good of the organization
A TRC leader will: Check (from time to time) the people behind you/teachers Improve on skills and techniques Create accountability among followers Improving teamwork among members
A TRC leader will: Place attainable goals smaller steps to achieve bigger aims Give credits to followers for their contribution Appreciate individual strengths and abilities Utilize individual strengths and abilities to achieve common goals
The Ministry of Education Provide trainings to develop skills and techniques to BOTH school principals and teachers Support effort made by school principals Provide resources (financial, material) to facilitate schools to achieve common goals Acknowledge weaknesses & potential problems. Improve on weaknesses The School Principal Communicate clear school goals Have good rapport with teachers/trust Know the strengths and weaknesses of teachers Know how to use those strengths Provide trainings to improve weaknesses Open to different approaches/paths Understanding To reflect on progress The Teachers Have skills and techniques Understand their responsibilities (accountable) To give and earn respect To know strengths and work on weaknesses To be prepared to make decisions To work together as a group
To have well-defined goals To have well-structured plans to achieve goals To create bond of trust among followers (communicate) To appreciate followers (respect & trust) To have skills and techniques To be prepared to adapt to changes To always check the progress of followers To acknowledge weaknesses & work on them To trust followers to make decisions Trust Respect Accountability Discipline Compassion Leader Interaction Motivation Be Ready Trust to create bond based on trust Respect to give and earn respect Accountability to be responsible team player Discipline to have good values & ethics Compassion to have passion in work Leader to set good example Interaction to get to know followers Motivation to influence others Be ready to be prepared Government provide support (e.g: provide professional development funding as well as workshops on TRC for staff members & teachers) - use TRC as guidelines in organization especially when selecting new leaders School management send teachers for courses on TRC - use TRC as guidelines when choosing head of departments/ when looking at teachers overall performance. Community (parents/ stakeholders) - provide support (e.g. funding) - acknowledge TRC as part of school culture