The Role of a Leader is Create Meaning and Purpose for the ...



The Role of a Leader is to Create Meaning and Purpose for the Organization

Michelle Wallace

Virginia Commonwealth University

Author Note

Michelle Wallace, Graduate School, School of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University.

This is an assignment for EDLP 715. The author states her position in regard to the leader’s role in creating meaning and purpose in an organization.

The Role of a Leader is to Create Meaning and Purpose for the Organization

Organization types may vary in their role whether it is a for-profit business, a non-profit community organization, or a school division/school. Regardless of the type of organization, there will always be an individual charged with the task of leading that organization to be successful in its mission. The main role of the leader is to create meaning and purpose for the individuals of the organization. A leader must take the overall goal of an organization and personalize it for the staff and various stakeholders in the organization. For example, public school division leaders have a known goal of meeting accreditation standards and making adequate yearly progress (AYP) as set by state and federal guidelines. It is up to the school division leader to give a focus which provides clear meaning and purpose for upholding these set standards. Bolman and Deal (2008) cite a study conducted by Katzenbach and Smith in 1993 where the first of six research highlights states that “high performing teams shape purpose in response to a demand or an opportunity placed in their path, usually by higher management” (p. 111). “Top managers clarify the team’s charter, rationale, and challenge while giving the team flexibility…By giving a team clear authority…management releases collective energy and creativity” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 111).

Individuals will agree that leaders in organizations need to create meaning and purpose for the staff of the organization. First, they will argue that leaders of change are visionary leaders. Setting a vision makes it real for staff members or “followers” of the leader. Next, they will make a case that leaders who create meaning are in-tune to issues and they will be able to provide resources that will lead the organization to success. Finally, believers will maintain that setting a meaning and purpose for the organization will create ownership of the goal and empower the people to be accountable for achieving the goal. Not everyone will agree that leaders should create the meaning and purpose of an organization.

Have you ever been in disagreement with your boss? We have all encountered situations where we oppose the opinion of the “one in charge” of the situation. There are a few reasons why leaders should not create meaning and purpose for the staff in an organization. First, there may be a lack of prosperity in the organization if the leader chooses the wrong meaning and purpose for the group. If leaders do not have a clear vision to share, then there will be little or no direction toward success. Next, a leader may select a goal that gets lost within the organization. This will lead to little support from those who should be following the leader. Finally, leaders may try to guide the organization through decisions which will be for his or her personal gain. This will become transparent to the organization and will cause followers to experience a lack of buy-in to the goal.

Leaders Give Meaning and Purpose to an Organization

Leaders are in organizations to do just that…lead the organization. Leadership “is a force that provides meaning and purpose to the work of an organization” (Southeast Educational Development Laboratory, 1992). According to the SEDL (1992) study, a school leader who creates a clear vision will naturally give meaning and significance to the work being completed by staff. Staff members will feel empowered by their contributions and will feel motivated to work towards the vision of their leader (SEDL, 1992). School leaders may be working towards the goal of meeting AYP and accreditation standards as set by law makers and state school boards; however, the school leader must create a shared vision for his/her staff in how their school can meet these requirements by seeking consensus from the group. After creating a vision, leaders must provide the organization’s staff with resources which will help lead to success.

Leaders in all organizations need to know which resource tools are needed to successfully fulfill a shared vision. As school leaders create a vision that will lead to being successful in meeting AYP and accreditation, they need to be cognoscente of the strategies which will help get them to that goal. School leaders need to provide teachers with insight to those strategies, with learning tools and technology to facilitate the implementation of the strategies, and with curricular and humanistic support required to create a foundation for success. A leader addressing this from the structural frame understands that without the proper tools and resources, teachers will feel confused, frustrated and unsure of what they should be doing to help reach the shared vision of the organization (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 329). Once a vision is set and the resources are provided, teachers or staff members will feel empowered.

Empowerment gives employees authority to do the job while giving them the freedom to be creative (Snyder & Graves, 2004) and thus they will take ownership over the shared vision created by the leader. Rebora (2008) believes that effective leaders can create structures where teachers have a certain level of authority, thus empowering teachers to make decisions which support the vision of the leader (pp. 30-33). Empowerment is like riding a bike for the first time. For so long you have been dependent on the support given by a parent pushing from behind. In the beginning you wobble from side-to-side and catch yourself to break the fall. Finally, when you have built the courage to take off on your own, you realize that you have been pedaling all on your own as your parent watches from afar.

Leaders who create a shared vision for their staff will give meaning and purpose to the organization. By giving support to the staff of the organization, leaders can structure an environment which empowers teachers and gives them ownership of the vision. Through individual empowerment and commitment, the organization will be successful.

Disagreement with the Leader’s Purpose

Not everyone will agree that leaders should create an organization’s meaning and purpose. What if the leader chooses the wrong path for the organization? What if the leader’s beliefs are not in line with the overall mission of the organization or the expected outcomes? This will lead to confusion among the organization and inconsistencies with the quality of work performance. It will lead to an organization that declines in success rather than prospers. A leader who provides the wrong direction for his/her team is like sending a team deep in the woods without a compass. The team will be lost and confused and will not be successful in escaping the deep forest. Cottrell and Harvey (2004) state that “inconsistency [in vision and direction] creates confusion, confusion creates unnecessary stress, and unnecessary stress typically results in poor performance” (p. 38).

Leaders may seemingly choose the right path and then experience trouble with the goal getting lost within the organization. In a school, a principal may select the goal of meeting the minimum standards for making AYP or accreditation. The principal is the instructional leader of the school; he/she should know what skills/content will be on the assessments leading to AYP and accreditation. Each assessment has an accompanying blueprint as to what is on the test. If the principal encourages teachers to put too much emphasis on the wrong topic, then the teachers and students will be faced with distractions which will inhibit success. It is easy for teachers or principals to get distracted by a topic that is more appealing to teach than another. However, if the assessments used for determining AYP and accreditation do not focus on that topic, then the principal should not encourage the expansion of the topic coverage. A leader’s job “is to continually reinforce and communicate the main thing, hone [his/her] focus, and keep the team on target (Cottrell & Harvey, 2004, p. 42). However, what if that target is developed by the leader for personal gain?

Many leaders may be self-motivated for success for the wrong reasons. These leaders will cloud the vision of the organization so that they may reap benefits for their own personal gain. This will become transparent to the workers of the organization and will cause a lack of buy-in from the group. This type of leadership will lead to a drop in morale and job satisfaction by an organization’s employees (Blanchard, 2007, p. 35). In a school division, it is a known fact that superintendents can negotiate their contracts. If a superintendent signs a contract stating that he/she will only get a pay increase if teachers also get the same percentage pay increase, then he/she will work to make sure the budget allows for such raises to occur. As teachers may enjoy the raise given to them, they will quickly see that the benefit of that raise is much greater for the superintendent with a considerably higher salary who is getting the same base percentage raise as the teachers’ mediocre salary. When they realize the personal gain developed by the superintendent, they will quickly lose sight of the overall achievement goals of the school.

Overall Rationale for the Leader’s Role to Create Meaning and Purpose

The first step to being successful is setting a goal. As a leader of an organization, it is imperative that the goal create genuine meaning and purpose for an organization. The goal cannot be tainted with personal vendettas and misguided foci. The vision must be clear and reasonable and there must be consensus among the group that the goal is a worthy one. As stated by Blanchard and Miller (2004) “It’s the leader’s job to make time today to ensure that there is a tomorrow” (p. 48). Leaders should follow-up the vision of the organization by providing resources and tools that will support the staff in achieving the set goals. Giving meaning and purpose to the organization will empower employees who desire success. It will also create happier and more productive staff.

References

Blanchard, K. (2007). The Heart of a Leader: Insights on the art of influence. Retrieved from:

Blanchard, K., & Miller, M. (2004). The Secret: What great leaders know-and do. San Francisco, CA: Barrett- Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cottrell, D., & Harvey, E. (2004). Leadership Courage. Dallas, TX: Walk the Talk Company.

Rebora, A. (2008). Empowering teachers. Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook, 1(2), 30-33.

Snyder, N., & Graves, M. “Leadership and vision- importance of goals and objectives in leadership” [Editorial]. (2004). Retrieved from .

Southeast Educational Development Laboratory. (1992). Leadership characteristics that facilitate change. Retrieved from .

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download