A matrix of leadership methods, terminology, and definitions flooded my mind, and for a moment became a tad overwhelming. In a way, it starts to look as if various experts on leadership continuously reinvent the wheel by adding and deleting components of theory.
Wren introduces the term citizen leadership. When I think of citizen leadership, I relate the term to leaders who underestimate their role in leadership and may often go unrecognized outside of their community. These are the leaders who work to establish change and gather support for local purposes and community needs (Wren, 1995). On a similar scale, I would be amiss if I did not use my back to school night experience as an example of acknowledging citizen leaders within our schools.
While sitting awkwardly in my third-grade daughter’s desk this past week, a woman standing next to the teacher introduced herself as the lead homeroom mother for the class this year. She explained her role in the classroom and discussed ways she would like to see parents become involved with the various trips and activities for their children. A sheet of paper was passed around and all of us in her audience promptly provided our name, telephone number, email address, and checked off the appropriate box determining whether we would be willing to send items in and/or become more physically involved if/when our schedules permitted. Prior to reading chapter three of Wren’s book, I truthfully did not recognize this form of leadership as a position; on the contrary, I considered it a way to support the needs of our teachers and children under the leadership of the school district. Perhaps the unrecognized role, purpose, and drive of this type of leader is a weakness of citizen leadership. This being said, and still true, it is also a leg to stand one when comparing citizen leadership to servant leadership.
Sticking with the example of the homeroom mother, I’m willing to bet there is no paycheck or high-esteemed, national or political acknowledgement for this position at the end of the school year. Without proclaiming her own leadership philosophy, she made it abundantly clear that her intentions were to assist parents with becoming involved in the classroom, support the extracurricular needs of our children, and be a liaison between the teachers, parents, and other classrooms throughout the year. Does this not define servant leadership, too?
In Wren’s description and explanation of servant leadership, the premise of this leader is to serve and lead by action to support others (1995). The vision and goal of a servant leader has to be strong enough for others to attach themselves to it by choice. I was surprised to read how a prophet is compared to this type of leadership, but as Wren discusses later, servants who are trusted as leaders will ultimately become the ones chosen to lead (1995).
When comparing citizen leadership with servant leadership, I find they can be one-in-the-same on many levels. Both are chosen through circumstance, they mutually put the needs of others ahead of their own cause, and they work with people, not through people. Northouse would categorize the two styles and their inferred belief regarding human nature under Theory Y.
When I think of teachers who operate as leaders of their classroom under the umbrella of Theory Y, I picture those who attend faculty meeting and workshops without checking the time every two-minutes. These folks enjoy their career and see it as more than a job, which overflows into their classroom management style and overall success of their students. Elise Goldman’s article describes how our style and approaches are modeled, absorbed, and mirrored by our students/followers (1998). Under Theory X, this could be a terrifying and daunting reality for many of our students, followers, teachers, and communities. Revisiting my teacher workshop example above, these are the teachers who not only check the time frequently, but also debunk every positive strategy, affirmation, and concept presented regarding teamwork and success. Under their umbrella, student’s receive the task, but not the relationship (trust, accountability, respect, etc..) needed to discover their potential and accept mistakes as lessons, rather than failures. Northouse uses the example of a teacher who addresses incomplete homework assignments with the threat of a bad grade. Although homework is a graded assignment, a teacher under Theory Y would encourage task completion with positive reinforcement rather than the threat of a zero. Positive reinforcement attaches itself to motivation and supports responsibility, which then promotes the student to becoming their own leader of success and learning (Northouse, 2012).
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Northouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage Publications, 2012.
Wren, J Thomas. “The leader’s companion.” Insights on Leadership Through the Ages. New York (1995).
Goldman, Elise. “The Significance of Leadership Style.” Educational leadership 55.7 (1998): 20-22.
Banter & Brains 