Transformational Leadership: Principals Supporting Teachers

William J. Peters

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on transformational leadership. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develop them.” — John C. Maxwell (2001) The 17th Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork, page 185

Teacher morale is perhaps the biggest influence on any school climate. When teachers feel supported and work recognized job satisfaction increases. But, when teachers sense a lack of support, it can have a disturbing effect on the school atmosphere. Teachers already have to deal with the constant demand for accountability and the pressure that accompanies such demands can lead to low teacher morale. Therefore, principal support is imperative to increase levels of work satisfaction and to retain teachers.

Principals play a key role in supporting and encouraging teachers in a safe, holistic school environment that allows all teachers and students to feel empowered and supported. Empowering and supporting teachers and teaching in the classroom through transformational leadership is a particular and important challenge for even the best principal. In fact, research by Kruger, Witziers, and Sleegers (2007) state that “transformational leadership has a positive impact on teacher motivation, professional growth, and on a variety of organizational conditions, including school culture, contributing to educational change in schools” (p. 16).

The leadership role of the principal has been evolving and one wonders how anyone can keep up with all the myriad of roles and sophisticated leadership strategies. Still, the challenge for principals is to keep up on the latest transformational leadership research and find better ways to support teachers and teaching. Healey (2009) reminds us that “healthy relationships among teachers, students, coaches, parents, and staff members transform schools” (p. 31).

References

      Healey, T. (2009, September). Creating greatness. The Education Digest, 30-34.

Kruger, M. L., Witziers, B., & Sleegers, P. (2007). The impact of school leadership on school-level factors: Validation of a causal model. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 18, 1-20.

Maxwell, John C. (2001) The 17th Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork, page 185.