With the current weather outside being quite chilly, rainy, and icy down here in North Carolina, numerous teachers sit by their phone and computers waiting to see if their superintendent will cancel, delay, or do nothing about school the next day. Many people sit and judge the south and the calls the superintendents make regarding weather but they don’t understand the circumstance these men and women face when making their decision. When superintendents make their decision they display their situational leadership. As Northouse (2016) points out, this approach “focuses on leadership in situations” (p. 93). This type of leadership uses a directive and supportive approach to handle situations.
In the south it’s important for people to know that the snow is not handled the same as in the north. There are not the same number of plows and salt trucks. They do pre-treat the roads, and plow the main highways, but side road are left to melt when the sun comes out again. In addition, the classroom assistants are the ones who drive the bus. In the school districts surrounding where I live, the schools do not outsource to a company. So, the school is putting classroom assistants in the driving seat with the children’s safety in their hands.
With that being said, it is up to the superintendent to make the call as to whether or not the roads are safe not only for the teachers to get to work but also for the children. So, when making that decision, I feel that the superintendent uses situational leadership. Within this leadership style the leader is able to work with some flexibility. The leader needs to “find out about their followers’ needs and then adapt their leadership style accordingly” (Northouse, 2016). Furthermore, Northouse adds that this approach is prescriptive. Meaning that the leader is able to adapt to the followers and help followers become leaders too. So along with the Superintendent making a decision, s/he needs to also prove their decision to the school board, parents, teachers, students etc and see the value in their decision and leadership skills.
So, as someone who lived in the north and now lives in the south, initially I didn’t understand the decisions being made. However, the longer I live down here the easier it is to see why decisions are made they way they are. Roads are not safe and when it comes to safety it is better to air on the side of caution. I think the superintendents have been excellent in making decisions to keep everyone safe and off the roads. Using situational leadership they can adapt to the many different situations that are thrown their way especially when it comes to weather.
Northouse, P.G. (2016), Leadership: Theory and practice. (7th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications.
I understand the point that you are trying to make regarding the responsibility of a superintendent for a school district when it comes to the weather, particularly snow. Although under those types of circumstances they must find a solution that meets the best interests of all those involved, the situational approach may not exactly fit in regard to this topic. This is because the basis of the situational approach implies that followers fluctuate between development levels and as a leader they must decide upon a leadership style that fits (Northouse, 2016). In this situation, the superintendent is not adapting his leadership style towards each and every individual person involved but rather they are just being forced into making an executive decision based upon an educated guess from any information they know about the incoming weather. By successfully doing this, they are showing superior decision making skills but they would be unable to apply a specific prescriptive leadership style because they most likely will not just take the opinion of one of their followers and base their decision on that alone. With that said, they also at the same time cannot have multiple different decisions under this circumstance because their options are either to close, open, or delay the school; there are no choices in between.
Next, even if followers under this circumstance were to have the skill and desire necessary for a developmental level to try and keep schools open for example bus drivers and teachers, that does not mean that they actually can or will be able to do so with a guarantee of the safety of the children and themselves. On top of which, it would be quite difficult to measure the developmental levels of followers for this circumstance because there are so many unknown factors involved. Also, in this circumstance it would be extremely risky to take a chance on an individual’s developmental level because you would want to be absolutely certain they can get the job done before sending them into a dangerous situation. Additionally, even if a superintendent decides to keep the school open based on their follower’s goals they may not have the full control to keep a school district open because their decision could be overpowered by a higher authority if the conditions are bad enough. The situational approach, would be better used in regards to a superintendent trying to pass on their knowledge to principals, teachers and various faculty members.
References
Northouse, P. (2016). Trait approach. In Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, California: Sage Publications.