Attaining
an organizational success goal requires a shared vision, an action plan, and stakeholder
commitment. Lezotte
and Snyder (2011) found the most significant feature common
to world-class schools was an on-going effort toward becoming “learning
organizations with a commitment to continuous problem-solving and a sense of
shared responsibility for improvement” (p. 67).
A consistent exhibition of vision toward a clear mission, commitment to
learning for all, and shared responsibility for success, certainly appears to
be minimal requirements to promote an effective, collaborative school climate. Development of an inclusive, inviting,
empowered, organizational climate requires effective leadership willing to
utilize an effective, consistent, and collaborative, learning community.
Change
in school climate requires development of professional learning communities and
improvement to other stakeholder relationships.
Effective leaders create invitations for success and systemically plan
for professional development and encourage utilization of action research to improve collaboration,
instruction, and classroom assessment practices (Marzano & Waters, 2008. Professionals readily sharing their
successful strategies for optimizing stakeholder relationships and willingly
conducting action research optimize
life-long learning, which then promotes the sustained, educational improvement.
Invitational
Education Theory provides a framework for assessing and monitoring school
climate. As a
self-concept approach, Invitational Education Theory helps
stakeholders within an organization realize their full potential. The framework avoids a
quick-fix approach by encouraging vigilance before affirming sustained change (Purkey
& Strahan, 1995). Vigilance is key because
changing how a school operates requires transforming its people (Asbill,
1994). School reform requires systemic metamorphosis,
based on holistic analysis of the people, places, policies, programs, and
processes (the Five Ps).
By
concentrating on five areas contributing to school success or failure, Invitational
Education Theory (Purkey
& Siegel, 2013) provides a specific framework for schools
to invite success. These “five powerful
factors–people, places, policies, programs, and processes (the five P’s)–are
highly significant for their separate and combined influence on Invitational
Leadership” (p. 104). The five P’s offer
almost limitless opportunities to address the total organizational climate or
ecosystem.
“Investment
in people results in effective change” (Hansen,
1998,
p.17). Invitational leaders involve and
empower people, thereby helping the individual become part of an effective team
(Burns & Martin, 2010). Empowering
leadership produces a strong positive effect on followers who desire autonomy. By contrast, directive leadership produces “a
stronger negative effect on followers who were high on the need for autonomy” (Seokhwa,
Cox, & Sims, 2006, p. 374). Crucially, the invitational leader recognizes
“the worker is no longer a cog…but is an intelligent part of the overall
process” (Gates,
1999,
p. 289).
In
the invitational leadership model, places, and the perceptions of those that
come into them, contribute to the school’s success or failure. Effective leaders can establish a successful
school climate through “awareness of the need to include all stakeholders in as
many of the decision making processes as possible” (Burns & Martin, 2010,
p, 33). When schools possess a positive
school climate, they exhibit an environment that encourages “decision making
characterized by participation, cooperation, and collaboration” (Hansen, 1998,
p. 17).
While
the school’s culture determines the tone of staff and students’ engagement, the
leader establishes the school’s climate (Goleman,
2006b). One way a leader contributes
to a positive school climate is to nourish trusting and caring relationships
and practicing empathetic social interactions.
Invitational leaders exhibit optimism, respect, trust, and
intentionality. Crucially, a leader utilizing
these tenets to promote a positive school climate must demonstrate high emotional
intelligence behaviors, especially in social awareness and relationship management
(Bradberry & Greaves, 2009).
Any
organization benefits from an inviting leader that utilizes Invitational
Education Theory and demonstrates high emotional intelligence. While the leader establishes the school’s
climate (Goleman,
2006b), the stakeholders’ perceptions influence the required metamorphosis to
the organizational climate as assessed by the five P’s. Although everyone and everything within the environment can influence
self-concept, how well the leader implements the tenets of Invitational
Education Theory influences
the group’s beliefs and choices of behavior. As elements of emotional intelligence, social awareness and relationship
management include the ability to accurately recognize emotions in other people
and understand what is really happening with them. This often means recognizing what other people
are thinking and feeling even if you do not feel the same way (Goleman,
Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002).
“Those
who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities (Voltaire,
1764). The inviting leader utilizing Invitational
Education Theory is more effective when demonstrating high emotional
intelligence. One benefit of this
synergy of skills is the mitigation of negative-based absurdities because the
leader consciously seeks to reduce
learning overload.
Learning overload prevents recognition of progress and achievement of
stated goals (Reason,
2010). The effective inviting leader recognizes this
and seeks to “clearly identify the learning focal points that matter” (Reason,
2010, p. 100), thereby mitigating stressors that overwhelm stakeholders’ perception
and their ability to attend to focal points.
The
ability to demonstrate high emotional intelligence while integrating the tenets
of Invitational Education Theory effectively create an empowering school
climate. Optimistic mindsets then become more pervasive.
Optimism reduces stakeholder absurdities, results in higher self-efficacy,
and increases belief that the leader and other stakeholders are capable, valuable, and responsible. Compared to the pervasive, control-oriented
approaches, effective implementation of Invitational Education
Theory by a leader demonstrating high emotional intelligence behaviors provides a synergy, which optimizes
the provision of a high challenge/low
risk environment whereby all stakeholders can thrive.
References:
Bradberry,
T., & Greaves, J., (2009) Emotional intelligence 2.0. Talentsmart
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Burns, G., & Martin, B. N.
(2010). Examination of the effectiveness of male and female
educational
leaders who made use of the invitational leadership style of leadership.
Journal
of Invitational Theory and Practice, 16, 30-56.
Covey, S. R.
(1989). The 7 habits of highly effective
people: Restoring the character ethic. New
York: Free Press.
Dittmar, J. K.
(2006, Fall). An interview with Larry Spears: President & CEO for the
Greenleaf
Center for Servant Leaders. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies.
Gates, W. (1999) Business @ the speed of thought. NYC:
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leadership: Realizing the power of
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Hansen, J. (1998). Creating a
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Lezotte,
L. W., & Snyder, K. M. (2011). What effective schools do:
Re-envisioning the
correlates. Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press.
Marzano,
R. & Waters, T.(2009). District leadership that works. Bloomington,
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Tree Press
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J. J. (2007). Elements of diversity in invitational practice and research.
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Seokhwa, Y., Cox, J., & Sims
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leadership
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To
Cite:
Anderson, C.J. (June 28, 2015) Leadership: Benefits of synergizing
the tenets of invitational education theory
and
high emotional intelligence skills [Web log post] Retrieved
from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/
