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Reference Books on School Counseling:
The Texas Model For School Counseling

Books on Leadership:
Creating Multicultural Change on Campus (Raechele Pope, Amy Reynolds, John Mueller)
Good to Great (Jim Collins)

How Remarkable Women Lead (Joanna Barsh)

Leaders Make the Future (Bob Johansen)

Leadership on the Line (Linsky & Heifetz)

Reframing Academic Leadership (Bolman & Gallos)

Reframing the Path to School Leadership (Bolman & Deal)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Lencioni)

The Leadership Challenge (Kouzes & Posner)

The Wizard & The Warrior (Bolman & Deal)

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: A Guide for Students (Shankman, Allen & Haber-Curran)

Identity & Leadership (Chavez & Santo)

On Becoming a Servant Leader (Greenleaf)

Do Good Well: Your Guide to Leadership, Action, and Social Innovation (Vasan & Przybylo)

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On Being a School Counselor:

Our Primary Purpose as a Leader on a School Campus: Make sure that everyone here is safe - S. Thompson (Thompson, Personal Communication, November 18, 2021)

On Being an Effective Leader:

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other"  (Kennedy, 1963, not delivered, para 2).

"...leaders have people follow them, while managers have people who simply work for them" (Next Generation, n.d.).

"Set a good example and others will follow" (Thompson, Personal Communication, November 18, 2021).

"Do not ask anyone to do anything that you yourself have not or would not do" (Thompson, Personal Communication, November 18, 2021).

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive changes in those who follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well.

Quick Background

The concept of transformational leadership was initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership can be seen when "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation."﻿﻿

Later, researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon Burns's original ideas to develop what is today referred to as Bass's Transformational Leadership Theory. According to Bass, transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect, and admiration from their followers.﻿﻿

Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar

Components

Bass also suggested that there were four different components of transformational leadership.

1. Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational leaders not only challenge the status quo; they also encourage creativity among followers. The leader encourages followers to explore new ways of doing things and new opportunities to learn.

2. Individualized Consideration: Transformational leadership also involves offering support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct recognition of the unique contributions of each follower.

3. Inspirational Motivation: Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they are able to articulate to followers. These leaders are also able to help followers experience the same passion and motivation to fulfill these goals.

4. Idealized Influence: The transformational leader serve as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalize his or her ideals.

So what are some typical signs of a transformational leader? Groups led by this type of leader tend to be both successful and loyal. They give a lot to the team and care deeply about the group's ability to accomplish its goals. Turnover tends to be quite low as transformational leaders are able to inspire a great deal of commitment in their followers.

In their classic text, Transformational Leadership, authors Bass and Riggio explained:

"Transformational leaders...are those who stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. Transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization."

"Research evidence clearly shows that groups led by transformational leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders," explained psychologist and leadership expert Ronald E. Riggio in an article for Psychology Today.

The reason, he suggests, is that transformational leaders believe that their followers can do their best, leading members of the group to feel inspired and empowered.

What can you do to become a more transformational leader? Leadership experts suggest that having a strong, positive vision of the future plays a critical role. Not only is it important to believe in this vision yourself; you've also got to inspire others to buy into your vision as well.

Link to Well-Being

According to the results of one study, this style of leadership can also have a positive influence on employee well-being.﻿﻿

The study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine involved surveying workers at several different German information and communication technology companies. Researchers asked participants to answers questions about their employer's leadership style.

A score for transformational leadership was then determined based on qualities such as providing intellectual stimulation, giving positive feedback for good performance, leading by example, and helping employees feel like they were making a contribution toward the goals of the group.

The researchers discovered that employees who identified a higher level of transformational leadership in their employers also had higher reported levels of well-being. The effect stayed significant even after researchers controlled for factors that are linked to well-being such as job strain, education, and age.

"The results of this study suggest that a transformational leadership style, which both conveys a sense of trust and meaningfulness and individually challenges and develops employees, also has a positive effect on employee well-being," the authors summarized.

Real-World Applications

So what impact could such results have for managers and workers?

The study's authors suggest that the results are important and can help companies develop leadership training programs that can be used to teach transformational leadership skills. Acquiring communication skills such as resolving conflicts in the workplace and recognizing the needs of employees are an important part of transformational leadership.

"Such training programs can be seen as another essential component of workplace health promotion and prevention efforts and therefore should receive wide support," explained the study's authors.

A Word From Verywell

The transformational style of leadership can be highly effective when used appropriately, but it might not necessarily be the best choice for every situation. In some cases, groups may require a more managerial or autocratic style that involves closer control and greater direction, particularly in situations where group member are unskilled and need a lot of oversight.

One way to improve your own leadership skills is to assess your own current leadership style and think about ways in which your strengths can benefit the group you are leading. By evaluating your own skills, you will be better able to play to your strengths and work on improving your areas of weakness.

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How Do Transformational Leaders Inspire and Motivate Followers?

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

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Branco, L. (2021). Who practices the 7 habits is emotionally intelligent? Project Management. https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog/blogPostingView.cfm?blogPostingID=60062&thisPageURL=/blog-post/60062/Who-practices-the-7-Habits-is-Emotionally-Intelligent---Part-1---Emotional-Intelligence-#_=_

Keating, J. (n.d.). Lead by me. https://stevekeating.me/tag/leading-by-example/page/2

Kennedy, J. F. (1963, November 22). Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963.  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/dallas-tx-trade-mart-undelivered-19631122

Next Generation (2021). The difference between leadership and management.
https://www.nextgeneration.ie/blog/2018/03/the-difference-between-leadership-and-management

Taxila Business School (2020). Top 10 best qualities that make a great leader: What makes a great leader? https://taxila.in/blog/top-10-best-qualities-for-great-leader/

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Professional Resources: Websites & Links

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Professional Resources: Websites & Links

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Websites:
Education Week Magazine
American School Counselor Association
John Maxwell: 5 Levels of Leadership Explained

Other Helpful Links:
Creating Your Personal Leadership Philosophy (Benson, 2015)

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Do you believe that you can adapt your style? Harvard University professor Ron Heifetz and leadership experts David Rooke and William Torbert say that you can. So let's look in more depth at Lewin's leadership styles, their strengths and risks, and how you might become more skillful in using them.

Authoritarian, Autocratic Leadership

This approach is helpful when your team needs to follow a process "to the letter," to manage a significant risk. It's also effective when you need to be hands-on with people who miss deadlines, in departments where conflict is an issue, or in teams that rely on quick decisions being made.

But you need to be aware that relying on control and punishment to maintain standards will likely drive people away. Similarly, if you always demand that your team works at top speed, you can end up exhausting everyone.

Instead, you can show respect for team members by providing the rationale for your decisions. And they will more likely comply with your expectations if you take the trouble to explain Why the Rules Are There.

You can improve your ability to "lead from the front" by Planning for a Crisis, Thinking on Your Feet, and making good decisions under pressure. But be sure to balance these skills with an awareness of their potential negative impact on creativity, ideas gathering, motivation, and trust within the team.

Being too autocratic can also mean that you'll find it hard to stand back from the detail and take a wider, more strategic view.

Democratic, Participative Leadership

With this approach, you set goals, guide team discussions, and make the final decision. But you also acknowledge that your people can have valuable insight into a problem or process, so you actively consult them. As a result, you'll likely gain creative input and fresh ideas that you wouldn't have come up with if you were working alone.

You might wonder how to manage differing opinions in the team, once you've invited participation in this way. Your goal is to build a culture in which people can have healthy debates with one another. So:

Be aware that processes could become dangerously slow if you involve your team members in every decision. You'll need to judge carefully whether you need to adopt a more autocratic approach, even if it's only briefly.

The Delegating, "Laissez Faire" Leader

"Laissez faire" is a French phrase adopted into English that means, "Let (people) do (as they choose)." It describes a policy of leaving situations to run their own course, without interfering.

By adopting this style of leadership, you empower your team to make decisions and to organize its own processes, with little or no guidance. The danger of this approach is that situations can collapse into chaos if your people have low motivation or poor skills. It can work, however, if they are experienced, knowledgeable, confident, creative, and driven, or if deadlines are flexible and processes are simple.

Be in no doubt, though, that as the leader you will still be held accountable for the outcome! So you might want to organize team decision making processes to support your people while you take a "hands off" approach. Just be sure to delegate the right task to the right person, as a mismatch could mean that the whole team fails.

Avoid becoming too remote, even with a high-performing, highly autonomous team. Change can occur at any time in business, so your organization's requirements for your team might shift after your initial brief. If this happens, stay in touch with your people, and communicate clearly and promptly. Remember, you can offer your support without becoming a micromanager!

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What's Your Leadership Style? - Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

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Leadership styles. Strengths and weaknesses.

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Anyone trying to come up to speed on emotional intelligence would have a pretty easy time of it since the concept is remarkably recent, and its application to business newer still. The term was coined in 1990 in a research paper by two psychology professors, John D. Mayer of UNH and Peter Salovey of Yale. Some years later, Mayer defined it in HBR this way:

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How Emotional Intelligence Became a Key Leadership Skill

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A reading list to bring you up to speed.

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Research by the respected Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in the U.S. found that the primary causes of executive derailment involve deficiencies in emotional competence. Each year, CCL serves more than 20,000 individuals and 2,000 organizations, including more than 80 of the Fortune 100 companies. It says the three main reasons for failure are difficulty in handling change, inability to work well in a team, and poor interpersonal relations.

International search firm Egon Zehnder International analyzed 515 senior executives and discovered that those who were strongest in emotional intelligence were more likely to succeed than those strongest in either IQ or relevant previous experience. Research that has been done on the relationship between emotional intelligence (EQ) and IQ has shown only a weak correlation between the two.

The Carnegie Institute of Technology carried out research that showed that 85% of our financial success was due to skills in "human engineering", personality, and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. They found that only 15% was due to technical ability. In other words people skills or skills highly related to emotional intelligence were crucial skills. Nobel Prize winning Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman found that people would rather do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don't, even if that that person is offering a better product at a lower price.

People would rather do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don't, even if that that person is offering a better product at a lower price.

To test out his findings, think of the last time you purchased a major item, a home, automobile, or large appliance where you had to dealings with a salesperson. Was the person someone who you liked and trusted? In my talks, I have found that whenever I asked that question, inevitably the entire audience answered that, yes, the person they bought a large item from was someone they liked and trusted. This theory about why salespeople with the right people skills do better than those who lack them is borne out by a study carried out by the Hay/McBer Research and Innovation Group in 1997. In a study carried out in a large national insurance company in 1997, they found that sales agents weak in emotional areas such as self-confidence, initiative, and empathy sold policies with an average premium of $54,000, while those strong in 5 of 8 emotional competencies sold policies on the average worth $114,000.

Much of the research that has been done on emotional intelligence has been at the executive leadership level. The higher up the organization, the more crucial emotional intelligence abilities are as the impacts are greater and felt throughout the entire organization. There have been some studies, however, that show impacts at all levels.

The higher up the organization the more crucial emotional intelligence abilities are as the impacts are greater and felt throughout the entire organization.

For example, a study by McClelland in 1999 showed that after supervisors in a manufacturing plant received training in emotional competencies such as how to listen better, lost-time accidents decreased by 50% and grievances went down from 15 per year to three. The plant itself exceeded productivity goals by $250,000.

The same principles apply in all areas of life, whether at work or in relationships. Everyone wants to work with people who are easy to get along with, supportive, likeable, and can be trusted. We want to be beside people that do not get upset easily and can keep their composure when things do not work out according to plan.

Self-awareness. The first thing that is essential for any degree of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. People with a high degree of self-awareness have a solid understanding of their own emotions, their strengths, weaknesses, and what drives them. Neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful, these people are honest with themselves and others. These people recognize how their feelings impact them, other people around them, and their performance at work. They have a good understanding of their values and goals and where they are going in life. They are confident as well as aware of their limitations and less likely to set themselves up for failure.

We can recognize self-aware people by their willingness to talk about themselves in a frank, non-defensive manner. A good interview question is to ask about a time that the interviewee got carried away by their emotions and did something they later regretted. The self-aware person will be open and frank with their answers. Self-deprecating humor is a good indicator of someone who has good self-awareness. Red flags are people who stall or try to avoid the question, seem irritated, or frustrated by the question.

Ability To Self-Regulate Emotions. We all have emotions which drive us and there is nothing we can do to avoid them. People who are good at self-regulation, however, are able to manage their emotions so that they do not control their words and actions. While they feel bad moods and impulses as much as anyone else, they do not act upon them. People who act upon their negative feelings create havoc, disruptions, and lasting bad feelings all around them. We feel before we think and people who constantly react from an emotional state never wait long enough to allow their thoughts to override their emotions.

People who self-regulate have the ability to wait until their emotions pass, allowing them to respond from a place of reason, rather than simply reacting to feelings. The signs of someone who is good at self-regulation are reflection, thoughtfulness, comfort with ambiguity, change, and not having all the answers. In an interview, look for people who take a little time to reflect and think before they answer.

Empathy. Empathy is another important aspect to look for when hiring. Someone who has empathy will have an awareness of the feelings of others and consider those feelings in their words and actions. This does not mean that they will tiptoe around or be unwilling to make tough decisions for fear of hurting someone's feelings. It simply means that they are aware of, and take into consideration the impact on others. They are willing to share their own worries and concerns and openly acknowledge other's emotions. A good way to look for empathy in an interview is to ask a candidate about a situation where a co-worker was angry with them and how they dealt with it. Look for a willingness to understand the source of the co-workers anger, even though they may not agree with the reasons for it.

Social skills. Social skill is another area of emotional intelligence that is highly important in the workplace. To have good social skills requires a high level of the other skills aforementioned as well as the ability to relate and find common ground with a wide range of people. It goes beyond just friendliness and the ability to get along with others.

People with social skills are excellent team players as they have the ability to move an agenda along and keep focus while at the same time remaining aware of the emotional climate of the group and possess the ability to respond to it. These people are excellent at making connections, networking, and bringing people together to work on projects. They are able to bring their emotional intelligence skills into play in a larger arena. To look for social skills in an interview, ask questions related to projects and difficulties encountered around varying agendas, temperaments, and getting people to buy in.

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Why Emotionally Intelligent People Are More Successful

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Research by the respected Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in the U.S. found that the primary causes of executive derailment involve deficiencies in emotional competence. Each year, CCL serves more than 20,000 individuals and 2,000 organizations, including more than 80 of the Fortune 100 companies.

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Sponsored by Droste Group:
From its modest beginnings as part of a larger theory of an alternative type of intelligence over 30 years ago with Howard Gardner's seminal book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, emotional intelligence has grown into its own as one of the most highly sought after characteristics in leaders today. According to The World Economic Forum, emotional intelligence is ranked in the top 10 key skills that will be needed for work in 2020.

Lack of emotional intelligence in an employee, especially one in a position of power and influence, can wreak havoc on an organization. Leaders with low emotional intelligence may come across as insensitive, arrogant, and intimidating and can impact the people around them by dragging down the overall climate of morale and motivation.

At its worst, a leader with low emotional intelligence can be a serial harasser and display unwarranted acts of aggression and emotional volatility. Travis Kalanick, former CEO of Uber, became perhaps most famous after shown in the back of the car, arguing with the driver - essentially, his own employee - in a heated debate, where he berated the driver repeatedly. As a leader well-known for being abrasive, Mr. Kalanick is a prime example of leading with low emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence has been shown to be related to job success, leadership effectiveness, sales, customer satisfaction, and general well-being, among other performance dimensions. Many practitioners now understand that a person's emotional intelligence can be as much if not more important than cognitive ability to one's success in the workplace.

The good news is that emotional intelligence is not an immutable trait and can be changed with time and practice. Today, leadership development cannot avoid the question of emotional intelligence and helping leaders measure, identify, and grow their own emotional capabilities.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Although the theory of emotional intelligence appears to have first been described in the 1995 book Emotional Intelligence - Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman, it has been with us longer than that, in various guises, since at least 1964.

Emotional intelligence has been defined as "the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior". It has been alternatively described as either a type of intelligence (more like an ability), or as a trait (more personality-based).

The current conceptualization of emotional intelligence, at least in academic circles, is to view as a set of somewhat overlapping models: the ability model, the mixed model, and the trait model, with the mixed model being, as you might have guessed, a set of skills and competencies.

The mixed model is probably the one that is invoked most often in the leadership domain. It is a set of related characteristics, such as self-control, self-awareness, relatability, and having keen insight into the emotions of other people, rather than a single, unitary concept.

The Skill of the Future

Sarah Payne from Globoforce writes that today's workers of all ages want more from their jobs than just a paycheck, such as meaning, values-based recognition, a sense of belonging, and even the celebration of important life events in the workplace. As the adage goes, employees leave managers, they don't leave companies.

Leaders lacking in emotional intelligence have detrimental impacts on the worklife and careers of their employees. Those with higher emotional intelligence usually successfully navigate the workplace more effectively and can build and manage successful teams more effectively. In general, they are more successful.

The World Economic Forum refers to a fourth industrial revolution, which is quickly becoming today's reality. Klaus Schwab of the WEF writes: "In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before." They characterize it as a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres that has the potential to disrupt almost every industry in every country.

Technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing are ushering us into this new era, and there is no looking back.

Emotional intelligence did not even appear in the top 10 skill set for 2015, but is included in the top 10 for 2020, according to The World Economic Forum. It is well documented that the work of leaders is becoming more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA).

VUCA is an acronym that was coined by the US military to describe the extreme conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 1990s. Very quickly this was adopted to describe the challenging environments that organizational leaders face today. There is just more pressure on leaders today to be more effective and to produce measurable results, sometimes in very fast-moving, ambiguous environments. This can cause a lot of stress for leaders.

Working well under stress requires an ability to manage one's emotions, and leaders with higher levels of emotional intelligence are more aware of their internal states and are, therefore ,better able to initiate countermeasures to control their stress levels. They may have better support systems within and outside of work, which helps them stay productive even when working under pressure and uncertainty. The increasing rate of change in the workplace is likely to increase work-related stress and increase the value of those who can handle it well.

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Why Emotional Intelligence is Indispensable for Leaders

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Sponsored by Droste Group: From its modest beginnings as part of a larger theory of an alternative type of intelligence over 30 years ago with Howard Gardner's seminal book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, emotional intelligence has grown into its own as one of the most highly sought after characteristics in leaders today.

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In some jobs, being in touch with emotions is essential. In others, it seems to be a detriment. And like any skill, being able to read people can be used for good or evil.

Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence. When Martin Luther King, Jr. presented his dream, he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience. "Instead of honoring this sacred obligation" to liberty, King thundered, "America has given the Negro people a bad check." He promised that a land "sweltering with the heat of oppression" could be "transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice," and envisioned a future in which "on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

Delivering this electrifying message required emotional intelligence-the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. Dr. King demonstrated remarkable skill in managing his own emotions and in sparking emotions that moved his audience to action. As his speechwriter Clarence Jones reflected, King delivered "a perfectly balanced outcry of reason and emotion, of anger and hope. His tone of pained indignation matched that note for note."
Emotional intelligence is important, but the unbridled enthusiasm has obscured a dark side.
Recognizing the power of emotions, another one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century spent years studying the emotional effects of his body language. Practicing his hand gestures and analyzing images of his movements allowed him to become "an absolutely spellbinding public speaker," says the historian Roger Moorhouse-"it was something he worked very hard on." His name was Adolf Hitler.

Since the 1995 publication of Daniel Goleman's bestseller, emotional intelligence has been touted by leaders, policymakers, and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems. If we can teach our children to manage emotions, the argument goes, we'll have less bullying and more cooperation. If we can cultivate emotional intelligence among leaders and doctors, we'll have more caring workplaces and more compassionate healthcare. As a result, emotional intelligence is now taught widely in secondary schools, business schools, and medical schools.

Emotional intelligence is important, but the unbridled enthusiasm has obscured a dark side. New evidence shows that when people hone their emotional skills, they become better at manipulating others. When you're good at controlling your own emotions, you can disguise your true feelings. When you know what others are feeling, you can tug at their heartstrings and motivate them to act against their own best interests.

Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. In emerging research led by University of Cambridge professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize the message and remembered less of the content. Ironically, audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it.

The authors call this the awestruck effect, but it might just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect. One observer reflected that Hitler's persuasive impact came from his ability to strategically express emotions-he would "tear open his heart"-and these emotions affected his followers to the point that they would "stop thinking critically and just emote."
"Whenever we wanted to persuade our staff to support a particular project we always tried to break their hearts."
Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our capacities to reason. If their values are out of step with our own, the results can be devastating. New evidence suggests that when people have self-serving motives, emotional intelligence becomes a weapon for manipulating others. In a study led by the University of Toronto psychologist Stéphane Côté, university employees filled out a survey about their Machiavellian tendencies, and took a test measuring their knowledge about effective strategies for managing emotions. Then, Cote's team assessed how often the employees deliberately undermined their colleagues. The employees who engaged in the most harmful behaviors were Machiavellians with high emotional intelligence. They used their emotional skills to demean and embarrass their peers for personal gain. In one computer company studied by Tel-Aviv University professor Gideon Kunda, a manager admitted to telling a colleague "how excited we all are with what he is doing," but at the same time, "distancing my organization from the project," so "when it blows up," the company's founder would blame the colleague.

Shining a light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff. According to these experts, emotional intelligence helps people disguise one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Emotionally intelligent people "intentionally shape their emotions to fabricate favorable impressions of themselves," Professor Kilduff's team writes. "The strategic disguise of one's own emotions and the manipulation of others' emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare's stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded."

Of course, people aren't always using emotional intelligence for nefarious ends. More often than not, emotional skills are simply instrumental tools for goal accomplishment. In a study of emotions at the Body Shop, a research team led by Stanford professor Joanne Martin discovered that founder Anita Roddick leveraged emotions to inspire her employees to fundraise for charity. As Roddick explained, "Whenever we wanted to persuade our staff to support a particular project we always tried to break their hearts." However, Roddick also encouraged employees to be strategic in the timing of their emotion expressions. In one case, after noticing that an employee often "breaks down in tears with frustration," Roddick said it was acceptable to cry, but "I told her it has to be used. I said, 'Here, cry at this point in the ... meeting." When viewing Roddick as an exemplar of an emotionally intelligent leader, it becomes clear that there's a fine line between motivation and manipulation. Walking that tightrope is no easy task.
In jobs that required extensive attention to emotions, higher emotional intelligence translated into better performance. In jobs that involved fewer emotional demands, the results reversed.
In settings where emotions aren't running high, emotional intelligence may have hidden costs. Recently, psychologists Dana Joseph of the University of Central Florida and Daniel Newman of the University of Illinois comprehensively analyzed every study that has ever examined the link between emotional intelligence and job performance. Across hundreds of studies of thousands of employees in 191 different jobs, emotional intelligence wasn't consistently linked with better performance. In jobs that required extensive attention to emotions, higher emotional intelligence translated into better performance. Salespeople, real-estate agents, call-center representatives, and counselors all excelled at their jobs when they knew how to read and regulate emotions-they were able to deal more effectively with stressful situations and provide service with a smile.

However, in jobs that involved fewer emotional demands, the results reversed. The more emotionally intelligent employees were, the lower their job performance. For mechanics, scientists, and accountants, emotional intelligence was a liability rather than an asset. Although more research is needed to unpack these results, one promising explanation is that these employees were paying attention to emotions when they should have been focusing on their tasks. If your job is to analyze data or repair cars, it can be quite distracting to read the facial expressions, vocal tones, and body languages of the people around you. In suggesting that emotional intelligence is critical in the workplace, perhaps we've put the cart before the horse.

Instead of assuming that emotional intelligence is always useful, we need to think more carefully about where and when it matters. In a recent study at a healthcare company, I asked employees to complete a test about managing and regulating emotions, and then asked managers to evaluate how much time employees spent helping their colleagues and customers. There was no relationship whatsoever between emotional intelligence and helping: Helping is driven by our motivations and values, not by our abilities to understand and manage emotions. However, emotional intelligence was consequential when examining a different behavior: challenging the status quo by speaking up with ideas and suggestions for improvement.

Emotionally intelligent employees spoke up more often and more effectively. When colleagues were treated unjustly, they felt the righteous indignation to speak up, but were able to keep their anger in check and reason with their colleagues. When they went out on a limb to advocate for gender equity, emotional intelligence helped them keep their fear at bay. When they brought ideas for innovation to senior leaders, their ability to express enthusiasm helped them avoid threatening leaders. On a much smaller scale, they were able to follow Martin Luther King Jr.'s lead in rocking the boat while keeping it steady.

More than two decades have passed since psychologists Peter Salovey at Yale and John Mayer at the University of New Hampshire introduced the concept of emotional intelligence in 1990. Why has it taken us so long to develop a more nuanced view? After Daniel Goleman popularized the idea in 1995, many researchers-perhaps awestruck themselves by enthusiasm for the concept of emotional intelligence-proceeded to conduct studies that were fatally flawed. As University of Lausanne professor John Antonakis observed, "practice and voodoo science is running way ahead of rigorous research."

One of the most persistent problems was the use of self-report measures, which asked employees to rate their own emotional abilities on items like "I can tell how people are feeling even if they never tell me" and "I am generally very good at calming someone down when he or she is upset." Abilities cannot be accurately measured with self-reports. As emotion experts Sigal Barsade of Wharton and Donald Gibson of Fairfield University lament, "One might compare this approach to assessing mathematical skills by asking respondents, 'How good are you at solving algebraic equations?' rather than asking the person to actually solve an algebraic equation."

Thanks to more rigorous research methods, there is growing recognition that emotional intelligence-like any skill-can be used for good or evil. So if we're going to teach emotional intelligence in schools and develop it at work, we need to consider the values that go along with it and where it's actually useful. As Professor Kilduff and colleagues put it, it is high time that emotional intelligence is "pried away from its association with desirable moral qualities."

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In some jobs, being in touch with emotions is essential. In others, it seems to be a detriment. And like any skill, being able to read people can be used for good or evil. Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence. When Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Emotional Inteligence - A Minute With John Maxwell, Free Coaching Video

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Many of history's most effective leaders are labeled charismatic. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about whether charisma is made or born, and if charismatic leaders are actually effective. A while back, I was interviewed as part of a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of the most frequently asked questions about charismatic leadership were part of that interview.
Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Winston Churchill were known as dynamic, charismatic and inspirational leaders. What particular traits or qualities did someone like MLK possess that allowed him to lead and inspire so many people?
Charismatic leaders are essentially very skilled communicators - individuals who are verbally eloquent, but also able to communicate to followers on a deep, emotional level. They are able to articulate a compelling or captivating vision, and to arouse strong emotions in followers.
Is charisma something that you are born with - you either have it or you don't? Do you think most leaders, politicians, and inspirational figures have charisma, and is it that quality which makes them stand out?
Charisma is really a process - an interaction between the qualities of the charismatic leader, the followers and their needs and identification with the leader, and the situation that calls out for a charismatic leader, such as a need for change or a crisis. But when it comes to the charismatic qualities of leaders, the emphasis is on how they communicate to followers and whether they are able to gain followers' trust, and influence and persuade them to follow.

Most politicians, particularly on the national scene, have developed their ability to communicate effectively - to make speeches, "work the room" with potential donors and supporters, etc. So many seasoned politicians have a lot of "personal charisma."
What are the important characteristics every leader should possess?
A model that I think represents the very best leaders, and research bears this out, is transformational leadership. You can think of transformational leadership as going beyond charisma, because two of the components of transformational leadership deal with charisma. They are:

Idealized Influence, or the leader's ability to be a positive (and moral) role model for followers. The transformational leader also "walks the talk," and is on the "front line" working with followers (think MLK Jr.), or leaders who sacrifice along with their followers. In business, the charismatic/transformational leader sometimes serves as the "face" of the company or the movement (think Steve Jobs).

Inspirational Motivation is the second quality, and it is what charismatic leaders are noted for - the ability to inspire and motivate followers to perform at high levels, and to be committed to the organization or the cause.

The other two elements of transformational leadership are Intellectual Stimulation - challenging followers to be creative and think outside of the box - and Individualized Consideration, or being responsive to the feelings and developmental needs of followers.

Transformational leaders are charismatic, but they are also noted for leading high-performing groups and teams and developing followers' leadership capacity as much as for helping the group or organization to change and innovate.
What are some behaviors or traits that might derail a leader/politician's career or stand in their path to success?
The biggest thing that can derail a leader is arrogance, and a lack of concern or responsiveness to followers and constituents. We have seen politicians' and CEOs' arrogance - thinking they are above the law and committing ethical violations lead to their demise. Also, a leader needs to succeed more often than not, and to learn from mistakes and setbacks.
Are leaders born or made?
This isn't something that requires my opinion, because the question has been well researched. Twin studies by Richard Arvey and his colleagues have estimated that leadership is about two-thirds "made" and one-third "born." This makes sense, though, if we see much of leadership as a set of learned skills and competencies - the ability to communicate, to strategize, to problem solve, etc. These take time to develop.

This question would have broad implications for leadership, for if it were all (or mostly) born, then our efforts should be directed toward identifying and selecting leaders, and we would be wasting our time on leader development programs. But, the research suggests that putting resources into leader development makes sense, and recent meta-analyses of these programs suggest that, in general, they work and lead to positive gains.
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What Is Charisma and Charismatic Leadership?

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Many of history's most effective leaders are labeled charismatic. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about whether charisma is made or born, and if charismatic leaders are actually effective. A while back, I was interviewed as part of a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Imagine working in an environment where employees are given short- and long-term goals to work towards, with structured deadlines and strict guidance that adhere to company policy. In this scenario, self-motivation is key. Employees can work with relative independence, so long as they don't fall below the expectations that have been set for them. And if they do miss the mark, they can expect to be reprimanded and supervised until their work gets back on track. But if they succeed in meeting their goals, they're rewarded accordingly.

In reality, you don't have to imagine this kind of workplace, because it already exists thanks to transactional leadership. It may not be the most freeform approach to management or employee stewardship, but for some companies that thrive in a more structured environment, it can be the key to success.

Transactional leadership is a more structured approach to management that relies on rigorous checks and balances throughout a company's production lifecycle. Typically, employees are given their short- and long-term goals and expected to work toward them under supervision, and everyone is expected to adhere to strict guidelines set by the company. Employees who meet their goals are rewarded, while those who fail to meet their deadlines are reprimanded.

While it's true that this form of leadership doesn't necessarily work well in creative environments where a more open structure is preferred, transactional leaders work well in environments that thrive on structure and organization. Plus, employees are allowed a certain degree of autonomy within the confines of company policy, so long as they're capable of meeting their goals effectively and on time. For employees who excel in an environment based on consistent company policies, transactional leadership can be a key motivating factor in encouraging them to realize company goals. Rules, regulations, and a high degree of organization is the foundation upon which transactional leaders build their organization.

A managerial approach to enacting transactional leadership may vary based on your organizational structure. For example, some may choose to create a motivation system built on rewards for each goal met or lean on a more intensive approach to supervising if it supports employees in meeting company goals. It can be a more intensive approach to leadership, but in the right environment, it can lead to exceptional motivation and results.
Transactional vs Transformational Leadership.
While transactional and transformational leadership both focus on subordinate motivation, meeting company goals, and creating a thriving organizational environment, the approaches to achieving these goals are actually quite different. Transformational leadership is focused on a more open approach that encourages employees to think outside the box and find new and inventive ways to address company needs. With a focus on rethinking patterns and moving away from the tried-and-true methods of functionality and problem-solving, transformational leaders aim to give their subordinates more freedom and creativity to achieve their tasks and goals.

Conversely, transactional leaders are all about maintaining the status quo-but not in a negative way. Rather, it's more of a "If it's not broke, don't fix it" approach where the organizational system mandates what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, with strict guidelines, plans of how to motivate, rules, and regulations. Subordinates are given the format in which they're expected to meet their long- and short-term goals, and they're rewarded accordingly when they achieve their objectives. Of course, that means subordinates are also disciplined if they fail to meet the goals that are set out for them. Where transformational leadership is all about a free-flowing approach to handling tasks and problem-solving, transactional leaders thrive on organizational routine, rules, schedules, structure, and oversight.

The roots of transactional leadership come from a study conducted by German sociologist Max Weber in 1947. While exploring different leadership styles, Weber identified three different categories, using the term "legal rational authority" as a stand-in for what would eventually become transactional leadership. According to Weber, this approach was based on the idea that subordinates needed certain motivations based on structure and a more oppressive management style to produce results.

As time went on, the theory evolved. In 1978, James McGregor Burns-a political scientist-wrote a book on leadership and posited that leaders who relied on the transactional model needed to employ the approach from a foundation of morality, responsibility, and honesty. He also identified the basic quality of transactional leadership, stating how it's founded on the idea of a give-and-take approach.

Later, in 1981, researcher Bernard Bass furthered the theory by explaining the psychological aspects of leader/follower instincts. His findings were bolstered in the '90s by researchers Bruce Avolio and Jane Howell. Their additions to the theory included the concept of active management, where managers could amend workflow based on any issues or problems and take a slightly more hands-off approach so long as employees were able to work functionally without intensive oversight. This was also when the idea of reward was included in the process, where employees who met or exceeded productivity expectations would be praised and receive extra benefits.

Because transactional leadership is a more structured approach to employee relations, it tends to be thought of as a "left brain" management style. In comparison to a more "right brain" approach that's freeform, open to change, and constantly evolving based on employee feedback and participation, transactional leadership's left-brain approach is guided by form and function. Often, it can be dictated from the top down based on company rules and a more rigid manager/subordinate structure.

Some of the common characteristics of transactional leaders include:

A focus on short-term goals: Efficiency and productivity are paramount, which means managers want to see results-fast. Short-term goals help employees reach their objectives faster.

Favoring policy, structure, and rules: Here, leadership behavior is not so much about innovation and out-of-the-box thinking as it is about following company mandates to a T. Employees who step outside of this structure run the risk of being reprimanded.

An emphasis on efficiency: With a strong structure in place, and no room for innovation, subordinates are expected to focus all of their energy on producing results as quickly as possible.

Rewards and reprimands: Subordinates who meet company production goals are lauded in kind, while those who don't may receive disciplinary actions.

Inflexibility and opposition to change: Transactional leadership aims to uphold the status quo-no questions asked. Deviating from the plan could lead to production delays and other issues that may impact efficiency.

Reactive: Rather than thinking ahead or planning for issues, transactional management tends to react to situations only when they have no other choice.

Favoring hierarchy: This approach also adheres to the idea that everyone knows their place in the chain of command and doesn't step outside that role to ensure the structure is upheld.

Micromanagement: While not all approaches to transactional leadership include micromanagement, many believe the way to improve employee output and create efficient production is through intensive oversight. This can also extend to the overall approach to the production timeline.

Practicality: Again, the focus here is action based on rules and regulations, rather than theories based on creative thinking and a "let's try it" approach.

A lack of personal connection: Overall, transactional managers don't connect with employees on a personal level so that the focus is on the work at hand and personal issues aren't able to interfere with productivity.

For certain businesses, transactional leadership can be an important part of the company structure, and a guidepost for success. Some arenas where transactional leadership can help include in the military, with policing, managing first responders and more in the public service sector. Additionally, transactional leadership is helpful in arenas such as sales and manufacturing, especially in situations where production lines are part of a company's manufacturing schedule.

Those who have a business degree and manage one of these operations may find many benefits in this type of management theory. It's been said that leaders such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, and football coach Vince Lombardi relied on transactional leadership to guide their professional endeavors.

Whether you're currently managing a business, moving into business management, or just starting out on the path toward business management, seeking higher education can help you learn more about how transactional leadership can support your company's goals. Taking online classes and working toward a business management degree can easily work into your schedule, even if you're currently employed full-time. You'll have the flexibility to learn at your own pace and gain valuable insight into leadership theories that can make a big difference in your company's output and productivity.

There are many different approaches to leadership and many theories, principles, attitudes and behaviors that guide those leadership approaches. But for the right business, company, and management team, transactional leadership skills can be used to motivate your employees to become their most productive selves.

As you're deciding whether or not transactional leadership is the right approach for you and your business, it helps to know the plusses and minuses associated with the practice. Some of the advantages of transactional leadership include:

It's a responsive way of effectively maintaining the status quo: There's nothing wrong with stability, especially in high-pressure environments. Transactional leadership can help uphold company rules and regulations, but also amend them as needed if problems arise.

It supports work environments that thrive on repetition: Whether your company is large or small, transactional leadership is a great way to support businesses that rely on repetitive output to meet production demands. The more things are streamlined and automated, the better production runs.

It's a solid approach to crisis management and troubleshooting: When you're firmly entrenched in company mandate, it can be easier to address issues that impede production or compromise the company. The rigidity and structure of transactional leadership can lend itself to quick solves.

It rewards self-motivation: Employees who can follow instructions and meet their targets are celebrated accordingly, which can improve output and morale. Similarly, those who fall behind or don't follow rules can be reprimanded. This black-and-white approach can make it easier for employees to carve out their roles and work more effectively.

It can be more cost effective: When a company or business employs a top-down approach that's guided by strict rules and regulations, it's less likely that more middlemen will be needed to help guide employees and manage company output.

It's a great way to achieve short-term goals: If speed is key to your production timelines, transactional leadership is an excellent way to get things moving-and keep them going-to meet daily and weekly goals.

Some of the disadvantages of transactional leadership include:

It's not necessarily the best approach to achieve long-term goals: Because transactional leadership is so focused on maintaining rules and regulations, it doesn't leave much room for future plans and the ability to adapt to an evolving marketplace.

It doesn't allow for innovations: One of the main tenets of transactional leadership is to never change. Adhering to such a strict approach can hold a company back from exploring a different approach that could lead to greater success.

Leaders can be put under a lot of pressure to succeed: A top-down leadership approach that doesn't encourage employee collaboration can mean that transactional leaders can bear a big burden of responsibility on every level.

Employee motivational rewards can be lacking: Often, productive employees will get rewards such as free lunch, a day off, or other assorted perks and monetary gains. Such rewards can be seen as middling and don't necessarily encourage employees to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Personal initiative isn't encouraged: Even if an employee finds a better way to achieve company goals, transactional leadership doesn't lend itself to embracing employee input-especially if it changes the rules or deviates from a mandated plan. Both of these issues can negatively affect company growth and employee morale.

Mistakes can prove to be costly: A number-crunching, cookie-cutter approach to managing production can lead to instances where problems aren't caught until it's too late.

Before adopting a new leadership style or amending your current style to include a new approach, it can be helpful to explore your business personality characteristics. You may be a transactional leader if:

You are comfortable telling others what to do.

You're capable of towing the company line.

You know how to execute decisions based on a strict adherence to company mandate.

You don't feel the need to confer with anyone else on your decisions.

You instruct employees to check with you before they make decisions that could affect the company.

You strictly monitor employee output while setting short-term goals.

You consider company procedure to be the guiding law, but amend it when improvement is needed.

Of course, transactional leadership isn't the only leadership approach that may work for you and your business or company. If you thrive on leading through example and don't believe in micromanagement, effective leadership may be the most complementary leadership style for you. Are you disciplined in your assessments but thrive on experimentation and smart risks? Consider exploring adaptive leadership as your preferred approach. Meanwhile, situational leadership is great for those who are confident in delegating while still participating within the organization as needed, and visionary leadership lends itself to high-minded thinking and innovations that are built on persistence.

Whichever approach you choose to explore, it all starts with a single step.

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Imagine working in an environment where employees are given short- and long-term goals to work towards, with structured deadlines and strict guidance that adhere to company policy. In this scenario, self-motivation is key. Employees can work with relative independence, so long as they don't fall below the expectations that have been set for them.

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What is Relational Leadership? (Leadership Questions and Answers)

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Relational leadership is a model of leadership that stressed the importance of creating positive relationships in an organization.

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:

"The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions...The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the "top of the pyramid," servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

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What is Servant Leadership? - Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.

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Leaders who relate to their teams and inspire action are critical to business success. According to a study in the Leadership and Organization Development Journal, employees' perception of authentic leadership serves as the strongest predictor of job satisfaction and positively impacts work-related attitudes and happiness.

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In addition, research detailed in the Harvard Business Review shows that a majority of employees believe authenticity in the workplace leads to benefits such as:

Better relationships with colleagues

Higher levels of trust

Greater productivity

A more positive working environment

For professionals aiming to advance their careers and make a lasting impact on their firms, investing the time and effort into becoming an authentic leader can be immensely valuable.

But what characterizes authentic leadership, and why is it a worthy pursuit? Here are five traits of authentic leaders offered by Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn, who teaches a sample online leadership lesson about legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton.

What Is Authentic Leadership?

Authentic leadership is a leadership style exhibited by individuals who have high standards of integrity, take responsibility for their actions, and make decisions based on principle rather than short-term success. They use their inner compasses to guide their daily actions, which enables them to earn the trust of their employees, peers, and shareholders-creating approachable work environments and boosting team performance.

Authentic leadership's key differentiator is the motivation behind it. An authentic leader strives to create a meaningful relationship with their team as they work toward goals related to their organization's mission and purpose-not just its bottom line.

Characteristics of Authentic Leaders

1. They're Committed to Bettering Themselves

Becoming an authentic, successful leader requires first focusing on bettering yourself.

"Authentic leaders begin with the will and commitment within to work on themselves," Koehn says. "They're not trying to be perfect or to somehow spring from the rib of Zeus into an iconic individual; but rather, they say, 'Day by day and week by week, I'm going to work on myself.' This commitment-made with oneself-is the most important starting characteristic."

Investing in yourself through such avenues as taking an online course can be a way to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to feel more confident in your leadership role and help your team thrive. Participating in leadership training can also enable you to build a network you can lean on throughout your career.

3 Benefits of Leadership Training for Professionals

2. They Cultivate Self-Awareness

A keen sense of self-awareness is one of the most important traits a leader can possess. Moreover, research by consulting firm Korn Ferry shows companies that employ professionals with high levels of self-awareness tend to perform better financially.

According to Koehn, cultivating this foundational component of emotional intelligence involves asking yourself questions such as:

What am I experiencing?

What are my strengths?

How am I showing up in the world?

Through looking inward and engaging in self-assessment, you can not only gain insight into your emotions and beliefs throughout your leadership journey, but improve your understanding of those held by others.

3. They're Disciplined

Being an authentic leader requires more than just building self-awareness-you need to put it into practice, too. That requires discipline.

Make it a point to check in with yourself as you complete daily tasks-such as delivering feedback and communicating with colleagues -to ensure you're bringing self-awareness to your role.

With a stronger sense of your motivations and limitations, you can identify your personal leadership style and chart a professional development plan that capitalizes on your strengths and rectifies your weaknesses.

4. They're Mission-Driven

A deep and abiding commitment to a mission is integral to both authentic leadership and business success. According to a survey by EY and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 89 percent of executives say a sense of collective purpose drives employee engagement, and 84 percent say it leads to greater success in transformational efforts.

As you progress through the different stages of your leadership trajectory, consider what issues and challenges motivate you to take action, and empower others to do the same.

Koehn says that while identifying your mission can take time, it's a worthwhile pursuit.

"Some leaders-like the abolitionist Frederick Douglass-discover their mission early on," Koehn says. "Others-like environmental crusader Rachel Carson or newspaper publisher Katharine Graham-stumble into it. Recognizing a mighty purpose and embracing this is critically important."

5. They Inspire Faith

Gaining colleagues' trust and influencing them to believe in and mobilize around a mission is a key tenet of effective leadership.

"The last-but by no means least-characteristic of authentic leadership is a willingness to take a leap of faith when things are difficult," Koehn says. "To help your followers believe the mission is worthy of pushing forward-even in the face of unexpected hurdles-and that the vast future ahead of them, as Lincoln said, is worth fighting for, being inspired by, and identifying with."

Whether communicating organizational change or assessing the potential challenges of scaling a venture, be transparent with your employees and tap into their motivational drivers.

The Importance of Authentic Leadership

As more organizations commit to purpose and make authenticity paramount to their business strategy, enhancing your leadership capabilities can be a boon to your career.

"It's what we're thirsty for now," Koehn says. "We're looking for leaders who can help us make a leap of faith and be integral to creating a better world-and to believe this is worthy of doing and possible."

No matter where you are professionally, taking the time to commit to bettering yourself, heightening your emotional intelligence, putting your leadership skills into practice, and embracing a mission can lead to substantial returns-for yourself, your team, and your organization.
Do you want to elevate your leadership skills? Explore our online leadership and management courses to discover how you can develop the skills to get things done and bring out the best in your team. Download our free course flowchart to find the right one for you. This post was updated on January 24, 2023. It was originally published on December 10, 2019.

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Authentic Leadership: What It Is & Why It's Important | HBS Online

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What is authentic leadership, and why is it important? Here, Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn offers the 5 traits of authentic leaders.

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What is your natural leadership style?

Do you focus on completing tasks or on building relationships with your team?

And have you considered that this natural style of leadership might be more suited to some situations than it is to others?

In this article, we'll explore Fiedler's Contingency Model, and we'll look at how it can highlight the most effective leadership style to use in different situations.

Note:

With this theory, we are not using the word "contingency" in the sense of contingency planning. Here, a contingency is a situation or event that's dependent - or contingent - on someone or something else.

Understanding the Model

The Fiedler Contingency Model was created in the mid-1960s by Fred Fiedler, a scientist who studied the personality and characteristics of leaders.

The model states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader's effectiveness is based on the situation. This is the result of two factors - "leadership style" and "situational favorableness" (later called "situational control"). We explore these two factors in the next section, below.

Note:

At Mind Tools, we believe that transformational leadership is the best leadership style in most situations, however, we believe that other leadership styles are sometimes necessary.

In our opinion, the Fiedler Contingency Model is unhelpful in many 21st Century workplaces (see Criticisms of the Model, below). It may occasionally be a useful tool for analyzing a situation and determining whether or not to focus on tasks or relationships, but be cautious about applying any style simply because the model says you should. Use your own judgment when analyzing situations.

Leadership Style

Identifying leadership style is the first step in using the model. Fiedler believed that leadership style is fixed, and it can be measured using a scale he developed called Least-Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale (see figure 1).

The scale asks you to think about the person who you've least enjoyed working with. This can be a person who you've worked with in your job, or in education or training.

You then rate how you feel about this person for each factor, and add up your scores. If your total score is high, you're likely to be a relationship-orientated leader. If your total score is low, you're more likely to be task-orientated leader.

Figure 1: Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale

The model says that task-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more negatively, resulting in a lower score. Fiedler called these low LPC-leaders. He said that low LPCs are very effective at completing tasks. They're quick to organize a group to get tasks and projects done. Relationship-building is a low priority.

However, relationship-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more positively, giving them a higher score. These are high-LPC leaders. High LPCs focus more on personal connections, and they're good at avoiding and managing conflict. They're better able to make complex decisions.

Situational Favorableness

Next, you determine the "situational favorableness" of your particular situation. This depends on three distinct factors:

Leader-Member Relations - This is the level of trust and confidence that your team has in you. A leader who is more trusted and has more influence within the group is in a more favorable situation than a leader who is not trusted.

Task Structure - This refers to the type of task you're doing: clear and structured, or vague and unstructured. Unstructured tasks, or tasks where the team and leader have little knowledge of how to achieve them, are viewed unfavorably.

Leader's Position Power - This is the amount of power you have to direct the group, and provide reward or punishment. The more power you have, the more favorable your situation. Fiedler identifies power as being either strong or weak.

Applying the Fiedler Contingency Model

Step 1: Identify your leadership style

Think about the person who you've least enjoyed working with, either now or in the past.

Rate your experience with this person using the scale in figure 1, above. According to this model, a higher score means that you're naturally relationship-focused, and a lower score means that you're naturally task-focused.

Step 2: Identify your situation

Answer the questions:

Are leader-member relations good or poor?

Is the task you're doing structured, or is it more unstructured, or do you have little experience of solving similar problems?

Do you have strong or weak power over your team?

Step 3: Determine the most effective leadership style

Figure 2 shows a breakdown of all of the factors we've covered: Leader-Member Relations, Task Structure, and Leader's Position Power. The final column identifies the type of leader that Fiedler believed would be most effective in each situation.
Figure 2: Breakdown of Most Effective Leader Style

Leader-Member Relations

Task Structure

Leader's Position Power

Most Effective Leader

For instance, imagine that you've just started working at a new company, replacing a much-loved leader who recently retired. You're leading a team that views you with distrust (so your Leader-Member Relations are poor). The task you're all doing together is well defined (structured), and your position of power is high because you're the boss, and you're able to offer reward or punishment to the group.

The most effective leader in this situation would be high LPC - that is, a leader who can focus on building relationships first.

Or, imagine that you're leading a team that likes and respects you (so your Leader-Member relations are good). The project you're working on together is highly creative (unstructured) and your position of power is high since, again, you're in a management position of strength. In this situation, a task-focused leadership style would be most effective.

Criticisms of the Model

There are some criticisms of the Fiedler Contingency Model. One of the biggest is lack of flexibility. Fiedler believed that because our natural leadership style is fixed, the most effective way to handle situations is to change the leader. He didn't allow for flexibility in leaders.

For instance, if a low-LPC leader is in charge of a group with good relations and doing unstructured tasks, and they have a weak position (the fourth situation), then, according to the model, the best solution is to replace them with a high-LPC leader - instead of asking them to use a different leadership style.

There is also an issue with the Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale - if you fall near the middle of the scoring range, then it could be unclear which style of leader you are.

There have also been several published criticisms of the Fiedler Contingency Model. One of the most cited is "The Contingency Model: Criticisms and Suggestions," published in the Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3. The authors say that, even under the best circumstances, the LPC scale only has about a 50 percent reliable variance. This means that, according to their criticism, the LPC scale may not be a reliable measure of leadership capability.

It's also perfectly possible that your least preferred co-worker is a genuinely confused, unpleasant or evil person (they do exist) - if you are unfortunate enough to have encountered such a person just once in your career, then you might always be categorized as a low-LPC leader, however people-oriented you actually are.

Key Points

The Fiedler Contingency Model asks you to think about your natural leadership style, and the situations in which it will be most effective. The model says that leaders are either task-focused, or relationship-focused. Once you understand your style, it says that you can match it to situations in which that style is most effective.

However, the model has some disadvantages. It doesn't allow for leadership flexibility, and the LPC score might give an inaccurate picture of your leadership style.

As with all models and theories, use your best judgment when applying the Fiedler Contingency Model to your own situation.

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Fiedler's Contingency Model: Matching Leadership Style to a Situation

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What is your natural leadership style? Do you focus on completing tasks or on building relationships with your team? And have you considered that this natural style of leadership might be more suited to some situations than it is to others?

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(Also known as LMX or Vertical Dyad Linkage Theory)

As a manager, it's not always right to treat everyone on your team in the same way.

For instance, you probably have team members that you've developed a great relationship with: you trust them, they work hard, and they've never let you down. To you, these team members are invaluable, and you make an extra effort to send challenging projects their way.

It's also likely that you have others on your team who you think less well of. They may not have far-reaching career goals, they're less competent, and you simply don't trust them to the same extent. These team members get everyday responsibilities, and are not considered for promotions or challenging assignments.

However, have you ever stopped to analyze why you don't trust certain team members? Rightly or wrongly, do you let that distrust, or the belief that they're unreliable, influence how you relate to them? Do you, even subconsciously, withhold opportunities that might help them grow and succeed?

This situation is at the heart of the Leader-Member Exchange Theory. This theory, also known as LMX or the Vertical Dyad Linkage Theory, explores how leaders and managers develop relationships with team members; and it explains how those relationships can either contribute to growth or hold people back.

What Is the Leader-Member Exchange Theory?

The Leader-Member Exchange Theory first emerged in the 1970s. It focuses on the relationship that develops between managers and members of their teams. The theory states that all relationships between managers and subordinates go through three stages. These are:

Let's look at each stage in greater detail.

Role-Taking

Role-taking occurs when team members first join the group. Managers use this time to assess new members' skills and abilities.

Role-Making

New team members then begin to work on projects and tasks as part of the team. In this stage, managers generally expect that new team members will work hard, be loyal and prove trustworthy as they get used to their new role.

The theory says that, during this stage, managers sort new team members (often subconsciously) into one of two groups.

In-Group: if team members prove themselves loyal, trustworthy and skilled, they're put into the In-Group. This group is made up of the team members that the manager trusts the most. Managers give this group most of their attention, providing challenging and interesting work, and offering opportunities for additional training and advancement. This group also gets more one-to-one time with the manager. Often, people in this group have a similar personality and work-ethic to their manager.

Out-Group: if team members betray the trust of the manager, or prove that they're unmotivated or incompetent, they're put into the Out-Group. This group's work is often restricted and unchallenging. Out-Group members tend to have less access to the manager, and often don't receive opportunities for growth or advancement.

Routinization

During this last phase, routines between team members and their managers are established.

In-Group team members work hard to maintain the good opinion of their managers, by showing trust, respect, empathy, patience, and persistence.

Out-Group members may start to dislike or distrust their managers. Because it's so hard to move out of the Out-Group once the perception has been established, Out-Group members may have to change departments or organizations in order to "start over."

Once team members have been classified, even subconsciously, as In-Group or Out-Group, that classification affects how their managers relate to them from then on, and it can become self-fulfilling.

For instance, In-Group team members are often seen as rising stars and the manager trusts them to work and perform at a high level. This is also the group that the manager talks to most, offering support and advice, and they're given the best opportunities to test their skills and grow. So, of course, they're more likely to develop in their roles.

This also holds true for the Out-Group. The manager spends little, if any, time trying to support and develop this group. They receive few challenging assignments or opportunities for training and advancement. And, because they're never tested, they have little chance to change the manager's opinion.

How to Use the Leader-Member Exchange Theory

You can use the Leader-Member Exchange Theory to gain awareness of how you perceive members of your own team. The following three steps will show you how you can do this by identifying the Out-Group, reestablishing your relationship with its members, and providing means and ways for team members to grow.

1. Identify Your Out-Group

Chances are, you know who's in your Out-Group already. Take a moment to note their names down.

Next, analyze why these people have fallen "out of favor." Did they do something specifically to lose your trust? Do they exhibit bad behavior at work? Are they truly incompetent, or do they have low motivation?

Analyze what they've actually done, and compare the facts with your perceptions. Do these match, or have you (perhaps subconsciously) blown things out of proportion?

2. Reestablish the Relationship

It's important that, as the leader, you make a reasonable effort to reestablish a relationship with Out-Group team members. Research published in the Leadership Quarterly journal in 1995 showed that team members who have high-quality relationships with their leader have higher morale, and are more productive than those who don't. So you, and your organization, can benefit from creating a better relationship.

Keep in mind that this group will likely be wary of any attention or support from you; after all, they may not have had it in the past.

First, meet each team member one-on-one. Take the time to find out if they're happy with their job. What are their career goals? What can you do to make their work more challenging or engaging?

A one-on-one meeting can also help you identify that person's psychological contract with you - that is, the unspoken benefits they expect from you, as their leader. If they're in the Out-Group, they may feel that the psychological contract has been broken.

You also need to discover what truly motivates them. Use McClelland's Human Motivation Theory or Herzberg's Motivators and Hygiene Factor Theory to find out what drives them to succeed.

Once you've had a chance to reconnect with your team members through one-on-one meetings, do what you sensibly can to continue to touch base with them. Practice management by walking around, or drop by their office to see if they need help on projects or tasks. Work on getting to know these team members on a personal level.

3. Provide Training and Development Opportunities

Remember, the biggest advantage to the Leader-Member Exchange Theory is that it alerts you to the preference you might unconsciously - and possibly unfairly - be showing some team members. This allows you to offer all of your team members appropriate opportunities for training, development, and advancement.

Your Out-Group team members may benefit from a mentoring or coaching relationship with you.

You may also want to provide them with low-risk opportunities to test and grow their skills. Use task allocation strategies to make sure you're assigning the right task to the right person. Also, take our Bite-Sized Training session, Setting Goals for Your Team, to learn how to set effective and realistic goals for these team members.

You can also use the Nine-Box Grid for Talent Management to re-assess their potential from time to time, and to give them the right development opportunities.

Warning:

A problem with the Leader-Member Exchange Theory is that it assumes that all team members are equally worthy of trust, prestigious projects and advancement. Although we may like to think that everyone is honest, hard-working and worthy of our esteem, the reality can be different!

Managers need to get the best possible results. This means putting the right people in the right places, and it means developing and reinforcing success. Of necessity, this means that talented people will get more interesting opportunities and may get more attention than less-talented ones.

Use the Leader-Member Exchange Theory to make sure that you're objective in the way that you deal with people, but don't be naïve in the way that you apply it.

Key Points

The Leader-Member Exchange Theory first appeared in the 1970s. It analyzes the relationship between managers and team members.

Team members typically go through three phases in their relationship with their manager: Role-Taking, Role-Making, and Routinization.

Typically, during the Role-Making phase, group members are classified into one of two groups: In-Group, and Out-Group. In-Group team members often receive more attention and support, and more opportunities, from their managers. Out-Group members get very little face-time, and few opportunities.

You can use the Leader-Member Exchange Theory to identify and validate any perceptions that you might have of people on your team.

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The Leader-Member Exchange Theory: Getting the Best From all Team Members

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As a manager, it's not always right to treat everyone on your team in the same way. For instance, you probably have team members that you've developed a great relationship with: you trust them, they work hard, and they've never let you down.

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The theory was developed by Robert House and has its roots in the expectancy theory of motivation. The theory is based on the premise that an employee's perception of expectancies between his effort and performance is greatly affected by a leader's behavior. The leaders help group members in attaining rewards by clarifying the paths to goals and removing obstacles to performance. They do so by providing the information, support, and other resources which are required by employees to complete the task.

House's theory advocates servant leadership. As per servant leadership theory, leadership is not viewed as a position of power. Rather, leaders act as coaches and facilitators to their subordinates. According to House's path-goal theory, a leader's effectiveness depends on several employee and environmental contingent factors and certain leadership styles. All these are explained in the figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Path-Goal Leadership Theory

Leadership Styles

The four leadership styles are:

According to the theory, these leadership styles are not mutually excusive and leaders are capable of selecting more than one kind of a style suited for a particular situation.

Contingencies

The theory states that each of these styles will be effective in some situations but not in others. It further states that the relationship between a leader's style and effectiveness is dependent on the following variables:

Conclusion

The theory has been subjected to empirical testing in several studies and has received considerable research support. This theory consistently reminds the leaders that their main role as a leader is to assist the subordinates in defining their goals and then to assist them in accomplishing those goals in the most efficient and effective manner. This theory gives a guide map to the leaders about how to increase subordinates satisfaction and performance level.

Related Articles

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The theory was developed by Robert House and has its roots in the expectancy theory of motivation. The theory is based on the premise that an employees perception of expectancies between his effort and performance is greatly affected by a leaders behavior.

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School Cannot Go on This Way. Education Leaders Need to Step Up (Opinion)

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Instead of holding broken systems together, we encourage school leaders to focus on blazing new paths, write two teacher educators.

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School Libraries and Controversial Books 

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School Libraries and Controversial Books 

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Around the country, school librarians have found themselves on the front lines of the culture wars. As states pass laws that restrict teaching of"controversial" or "divisive" subjects, school libraries have seen calls to remove books about issues like race, gender, and sexuality from their shelves.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for example, wrote to his state's school boards association this month, saying districts should remove "pornographic or obscene material" from school library shelves. That letter came after a state senator launched an inquiry into whether schools shelve a list 850 books titles about issues like transgender identity, AIDS, the history of the abortion debate, and racial justice.

In Utah, one district immediately removed nine books- including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison- from school libraries after a parent said she grew concerned about them after watching videos on social media.

But school librarians have a responsibility to assemble collections that represent all students, helping them to learn about themselves and the world around them, said Jennisen Lucas, the president of the American Association of School Librarians.

In a tense political climate, school and district administrators should prepare for challenges to books before they happen, said Lucas, who is also the library director for Park County School District 6 in Cody, Wyo.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What is it like to be a school librarian in this moment?
In a word, it's a little scary.

It can be seen as an opportunity for us to really talk about what it is that we do. But, because the discussion is being led by an opposition of sorts, that makes it a little bit more difficult to really put the positive spin on what it means to actually have materials available for all people in our society. It's not just whoever happens to speak the loudest or who has the majority of community members as part of their group.

It feels it's a lot like it's essential to our democracy to make sure that we have understandings of multiple viewpoints from multiple people. We believe that in our hearts, but the controversy ends up being a little bit difficult in practice, especially when you think about the fact that the people who are speaking out have children's best interests in their hearts as well.
Tell me more about what you mean by that.
A lot of people who are a lot of the parents who are speaking out- they're trying to protect their children, and that is a good and noble thing. We should always be protecting our children.

It's great if you're protecting your own child; it becomes a censorship issue when you are trying to decide for everyone else what is and is not appropriate for them.
We've seen controversies over library books from authors like Judy Blume and Toni Morrison for years. Does this moment feel different from the discussions about library content in the past?
It does feel different ... it is a lot more national in scope. It's not individual schools that are facing this. We know that there are some some groups providing information on a national scale about some of these materials that go against certain viewpoints and certain beliefs.

In the past [the conversation] has been: "We object to this book. We would like to have it reviewed. We would like to have it removed from the library." But now it seems to be escalating ... it's not just about the [individual] books anymore. It's about access to information. And there are [school librarians] who are receiving threatening messages on social media. That crosses a line. We would rather have a civil discourse.
What are some ways that school districts can anticipate these discussions before they arise in a letter from a parent or a tense school board meeting?
Double-check your policies and make sure that you know them.

We ran into this in my district a few years ago ... We ended up with a policy for how to select learning materials that did not address how to select library books. And so when we did have a book challenge, the committee that was looking at the books was confused about that difference between instructional materials-those that are assigned to students-and library books, which are available to students, but nobody's forcing you to read them. That was an eye-opener to us that it was time to go back and look at our policies in this climate.

So make sure there is a policy [for selecting books], double-check that you are following that policy, and make sure everybody knows about it. And make sure that there is a policy for reconsideration [of a book's inclusion in a school library], because part of the conflict is going to be when a parent who is trying to voice their opinions doesn't have a process by which they can be heard. Having that policy in place helps parents navigate this as well.

I've been keeping my administration abreast of what's going on nationally. We don't always pay attention to small things that are happening in other districts, but this has become really big. This very well might come our way, so we have to know are we going to address this and talk about it in a way that is respectful and positive and non-adversarial.
How do you think about what to include in a school library collection, and what should parents understand about that?
We think a lot about the age-appropriateness and what we know about child development, because school librarians are also trained teachers. And so we have kind of gone through that process of thinking, "OK ... this book might have a difficult topic, but it's designed for children this age." And then we look at our communities as well and say, "Is this book going to be appropriate to my community?"

And we also then look to make sure that it is connected, in that we can connect it to curriculum. So if there are topics that are being taught in our school, we want to make sure that we have the materials that are needed for kids to explore beyond what they talk about in their class.

Some of the murkiness might come from when we're providing materials for fun reading. For example, our 2nd grade boys are very, very into dirt bikes. That's not taught in our curriculum, but we want to make sure we have that interest material because that's how they're actually going to learn how to read. Dirt bikes are not controversial, but it turns out that in my area, zombies are.
So many of these issues in education right now feel like they're exacerbated by distrust of schools or institutions in general. Is there anything school libraries can do to build trust with parents?
In our district, we have specifically written it in the beginning of our [policy for challenging a library book] that [a parent] should come to talk to me... Sometimes they have a concern for their child, and that we can address. We will always back up a parent about their own child.

We can put a note in the child's record in our circulation system that says that per parent request they're not allowed to check out certain books. For instance, that [the child] is not allowed to read about zombies, witches, and ghosts. And that can be for a variety of reasons. It could be because of parental concerns based on religion, or just the fact that their child gets nightmares.

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School Libraries and Controversial Books: Tips From the Front Lines

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A top school librarian explains how districts can prepare for possible challenges to student reading materials and build trust with parents.

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Teacher Fired for Lesson on White Privilege

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Teacher Fired for Lesson on White Privilege

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A Tennessee teacher was fired justifiably last school year for teaching his students that white privilege is a fact of life rather than a theory, an outside hearing officer overseeing his appeal process ruled late last week.

Matthew Hawn, a Sullivan County, Tenn., contemporary issues high school teacher, was insubordinate and unprofessional and violated the teacher code of ethics when he failed to provide students "varying viewpoints" on the existence of white privilege during a lesson on police brutality against Black men, hearing officer Dale Conder said in his decision.

"Despite knowing he was to provide varying viewpoints, Mr. Hawn did not provide a viewpoint contrary to the concept of white privilege," Conder wrote in his decision.

Hawn, reached by Education Week over the weekend after the ruling, has not yet decided whether to appeal Conder's ruling.

"I really thought that I was going to be teaching in Sullivan County. I thought we made a great case," said Hawn, 43, who grew up in the county and had been teaching in the district for 16 years. "I'm just extremely disappointed and defeated."

The ruling comes amid a raucous national debate over whether districts and states should censure the ways teachers talk to students about America's racist past.

As his case gained national attention, Hawn, who was tenured, decided to appeal the firing, asking for a hearing to determine whether the district acted legally.

Hawn taught a contemporary issues class at Sullivan Central High School for more than a decade, where he brought up current events in his classroom for students to debate and discuss. In September 2020, Hawn told his contemporary issues students, "white privilege is a fact," while juxtaposing the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, and the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenager who walked away unharmed after fatally shooting two people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wis.

On Sept. 10, Hawn was told by his principal in an email to allow room for classroom discussion and not make declarative statements about the topics he brought up in class. Undeterred, he later that year assigned a Ta-Nehisi Coates essay called "The First White President" about Donald Trump, which calls the former president a white supremacist.

After a parent complained, Assistant Director of Schools Ingrid Deloach issued Hawn a reprimand for failing to provide varying perspectives, which is a requirement under Tennessee's Teacher Code of Ethics.

When Hawn wanted to discuss former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's verdict for killing George Floyd with his class in June, he chose to show a video of Black poet Kyla Jenee Lacey reciting her poem, "White Privilege." This time, he also assigned students to read Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking an invisible knapsack" and CNN writer John Blake's opinion piece, "It's time to talk about Black privilege."

Conder did not consider any of these to be a "varying perspective" to the poem, because they did not question the existence of white privilege.

"These articles do not challenge the concept of 'white privilege,'" he said in his decision.

In a school district and county that's overwhelmingly white and conservative, Black writers like Coates, Lacey, and Blake are the varying viewpoint, Hawn said.

"Whenever I teach perspectives from African American people, I have to immediately compare and contrast it with a white narrative," said Hawn,a white self-described "anti-racist" teacher in a district where more than 94 percent of students are white. "That's what they want me to do with my lesson plans."

The district's school board will now vote on whether to uphold Conder's decision.

If the district's school board votes to uphold the decision, Hawn has the option to appeal to the Sullivan County Chancery Court. If Hawn isn't satisfied with that court's decision, he could ask for his case to heard in an appeals court.

His firing and subsequent case has drawn national attention, including from the Atlantic, the New York Times, and CNN.

Faith Jones, one of his former students who testified on his behalf in August, said that while she's disappointed in the court decision, she's eager to see what he does next.

However, Jones said she's worried for future Sullivan County students after the school district removed the contemporary issues class from its curriculum this year, according to Hawn.

"I think taking teachers and classes away from small towns limits any type of growth. I just hope Sullivan County isn't moving backwards with decisions like these," she said. "If we're not even taught about what problems our society is dealing with every day, there's no way to fix it."

Current head of Sullivan County Schools, Evelyn Rafalowski, said in a statement that Conder had "correctly ruled" in the district's favor.

"The termination stemmed from a repeated failure to abide by school policy of presenting opposing viewpoints in his contemporary issues class at Sullivan Central High School," she said. "The subject matter of Hawn's class was never the issue in this case."

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Teacher Fired for Lesson on White Privilege Loses Appeal

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A Tennessee teacher was fired justifiably last school year for teaching his students that white privilege is a fact of life rather than a theory, an outside hearing officer overseeing his appeal process ruled late last week.

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College and Career Planning: College Enrollment Drops

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College and Career Planning: College Enrollment Drops

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Higher education enrollment rates show little to no signs of recovery from the steep drops that occurred last year due to COVID-19, from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show.

Undergraduate enrollment continued to decline, falling by 3.2% since fall 2020, virtually mirroring last fall's drop of 3.4% and combining for a 6.5% drop from 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

"Enrollments are not getting better," Doug Shapiro, executive director of National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said. "They're still getting worse."

Cartoons on the Coronavirus

Community colleges remained the hardest hit sector, with enrollment dropping 5.6%, less than the 9% gutting that the two-year colleges experienced last year. But combined, it represents a severe 14% decline compared to 2019.

"These are the students who would normally be enrolling in droves during a recession, and then we expect them to go back to work as the job market improves," Shapiro said. "But this time, it's like the entire crest of that wave got swallowed up by the pandemic and what we're seeing here is two troughs, one after the other instead. There was simply no upside from the recession, just a downside that we're seeing now from the recovery - or at least the recovery in the job market."

The early analysis of enrollment represents figures reported by roughly half of the country's postsecondary institutions as of Sept. 23. And while they could shift as more schools report their enrollment data over the next month, the current data represents more than 8 million students.

"If this current rate of decline, this 6 1/2 percent, were to hold up, it would be the largest two-year enrollment decline in at least the last 50 years in the U.S," Shapiro said. Education Department data going back to 1970 shows the previous worst two-year decline occurred from 2011 to 2013, when enrollment dropped 3.3%.

"That's when we were coming off of all-time highs from the Great Recession, so those declines weren't so painful," he said. "These declines that we are seeing today are from an already depressed level of enrollment."

Other worrisome trends abound: Public four-year enrollment fell more this fall than last fall, 2.3% compared to 0.8%. And at colleges and universities that are primarily online, undergraduate and graduate enrollments dropped by 5.4% and 13.6%, respectively, virtually erasing the nearly 9% enrollment increases both sectors experienced last year.

Undergraduates at private nonprofit four-years fared better, with enrollment falling only 0.7% compared to last year.

Freshman enrollment, which higher education experts predicted would bounce back after a pandemic year that resulted in many students taking a so-called gap year before beginning their studies, also continued to fall, this time by 3.1%. Though the rate of decline is less than one-third that of the previous fall, analysts at the clearinghouse underscored that it "remains far from having stabilized."

Notably, there was a sharp disparity within the private and public four-year colleges and universities, with only the "highly selective" schools in each sector recording increases in enrollment.

Highly selective private nonprofit schools notched a 4.3% enrollment increase, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and now experiencing a 1.8% enrollment increase compared to 2019. Meanwhile, enrollment at other private nonprofits - those considered "very competitive," "competitive" and "less selective" - declined anywhere from 1.8% to 2.5%. And highly selective public universities, including the state flagships, increased 1% while enrollment at other public universities fell anywhere from 2.8% to 5.7%. Public colleges and universities considered "less selective" are currently enrolling 8% less students now than they did before the pandemic.

"It was quite striking to see that trend as you go down the selectivity scale," Shapiro said. "The biggest questions are when or if ever will some of the students who we lost in the last two years start coming back? Will they be able to get back into the educational pipeline?"

"Right now, a lot of young people seem to be going to work instead of going to college," he continued, noting that was especially true for students from low-income families who have been lured away from higher education by the current labor market. "These students have always been the most on the margin between college and the workforce and also the most powerfully pulled away by the need to support their families through hard times. I think trying to understand how those students might ever get back to the college path is really important. It's important to our future workforce."

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College Enrollment On Track for Largest Two-Year Drop on Record

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Higher education enrollment rates show little to no signs of recovery from the steep drops that occurred last year due to COVID-19, from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show. Undergraduate enrollment continued to decline, falling by 3.2% since fall 2020, virtually mirroring last fall's drop of 3.4% and combining for a 6.5% drop from 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

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Lucy Hone: 3 secrets of resilient people

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Everyone experiences loss, but how do you cope with the tough moments that follow? Resilience researcher Lucy Hone shares three hard-won strategies for developing the capacity to brave adversity, overcome struggle and face whatever may come head-on with fortitude and grace.