Statement 1: As a novice to leadership in the professional arena, I based my response on my experiences with
leadership in various organizations. I have always viewed my style of leadership as transformational.
Transformational leadership is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals; it
includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings
(Northouse, 2019). I like to think that when I lead I motivate others to do more and I set that example by striving
for perfection at all times. For example, I serve in a leadership role for Girl Scouts as a service unit manager.
This was a position that I did not seek, rather I was sought out to leave because of my dedication to our troops.
I took over leadership, from a group of people who did not have the best interest of the girls at heart. I was
challenged with recruiting new people to help build our service unit up and increase girl and adult membership
numbers. To make these types of changes it meant motivating others to see themselves in more active roles
and building their courage to be bold. We were successful as a team in increasing membership numbers and
created opportunities for girls and adults to be successful. I am at my best when I lead, I have always believed
that I am a natural born leader and I have so many characteristics that fall into multiple categories of
leadership, such as being a good listener, negotiator and role model (Leadership Theories, n.d.).
If I were to use this style of leadership in my professional setting of education there are several things that I
would do to make sure that we are all successful. First, I would engage with my coworkers and create a level of
connection that is motivational and moral (Northouse, 2019). Second, I would use charisma to lead my team to
accomplish our shared goals. Charismatic leaders are dominant, have a strong desire to influence others, or
self-confident, and have a strong sense of their own moral values (Northouse, 2019). Lastly, I would role model
what I expected from my employees, it would be my goal on a daily basis to show all of them how to be the
best person that they know how to be each day. These are the steps that I would take in a leadership role for
higher education.
After completing the leadership assessment, my results showed 16 out of 16 for contingency leadership, and
15 out of 16 for transformational leadership. I am somewhat surprised by the results of the assessment, but I
can see that my characteristics align with the facets of contingency leadership. Fiedler believed that leadership
was contingent upon the situation and could be either effective or ineffective (Leadership Theories, n.d.). For
example, a leader’s ability to effectively lead a group of people can be either positive or negative based on the
situation.
Higher education is indeed both challenging and rewarding. In Revolutionary leadership (2006) the report
stated that leaders in higher education resisted most change except that of collaboration and empowerment
because they were already accustomed to shared governance and decentralized authority. Middlehurst (2008)
found that higher level educators face more challenges that are political, social, and economical. All of these
impact how leaders lead and what methods they use to engage employees. I believe that transformational
leadership would be the most effective method to use in higher level education, because it is a more modern
mindset that combines aspects of traditional leadership with modified approaches to engage employees to
work for a common goal.
Statement2: From my experience and connecting my style to the readings, my leadership style can vary. I am a
situational leader. According to Northhouse, “From this perspective, to be an effective leader requires that a
person adapt his or her style to the demands of different situations” (Northouse, 2019, p.95). I focused on my
tasks; it is important for me to serve our student population and assist them by providing campus resources
and answering specific questions. I am there to offer support to my colleagues, students, and occasionally
parents. There can be situations where certain tasks require a different approach.
Sample Solution
