Job Satisfaction of Teachers

Leadership entails a number of different parts and can come from any position in the school. The administration is the main source of leadership in a school. Generally, we associate school leadership with superintendents and principals. People in these positions are in charge of making decisions, which run the school. However, teachers can also provide leadership in their classroom and through activities and other extracurricular activities. Katzenmeyer and Moller (1996) argue “…there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership that can be a catalyst to push school reform….” Even students can provide leadership in certain situations such as an athletic team’s captain, a point guard for a basketball team, or a class officer.
With the many places leadership can occur, to have good school leadership, all people need to be willing to share responsibility and power. Lambert (1998) argues, “Leadership requires the redistribution of power and authority.” This distribution of power can lead to trust between staff and administration. This trust emerges when administrators and teachers work together to benefit the school. Trust comes about by principals trusting the judgment of teachers in the classroom and backing teachers on issues such as discipline. So that the teachers’ authority is not undermined, discipline must be consistent and not show favoritism toward any student. Teachers, in turn, must trust that the principal will follow through on all rules and not make exceptions for the school’s “star” athlete or “smartest” student. This trust is also part of a type of leadership theory called transformational leadership. Bass (1996) says that trust is a key component of idealized influence, which incorporates faith and respect, dedication, and trust into leadership. Trust is an important aspect of leadership.
With the trust between leader and follower, good school leadership will also have excellent communication. Smith, who can be found in Bean (2000),