Applying Leadership Theories
Grand Canyon University: EDA-575
May 20, 2015

Applying Leadership Theories
The school that I have chosen, as the subject of my research, for this class, is a Title I school located in,. The school holds grades pre-school through grade five. The population is mostly African Americans coming from low-income households. Over eighty percent of the students are on the free and reduced meals program. The administration is made up of one principal and an assistant principal. The current principal has served the school for four consecutive years while this is the first year for the assistant principal. Other important stakeholders include PTA, teachers, students, and committees such as PBIS management team, School Leadership team and the Instructional Cabinet.
There is not one agreed upon definition of leadership. What is agreed upon is that leadership is a relationship between leader and followers that is built on influence, power, motivation, and the ability to set and achieve a goal (GCU, 2010). Also, leaders must have a vision. A leader’s vision develops through three manifestations: inspiration, action and implementation (Sullivan, 2013). Leadership is developed not only by abilities and competences but also through qualitative life experiences (Sullivan, 2013). Leadership theory is the focus of what makes effective leaders successful, while leadership styles focus on the qualities of leaders. The principle contrast between leadership theory and leadership style is that leadership style falls under the general concept of leadership theory. Some theories of leadership include the Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Behavioral Theories, Theory X and Theory Y, Participative Leadership, Transactional, and Situational Leadership.
Participative Leadership Theory is the theory that is mostly present is Participative Leadership seeks to involve stakeholders in the process of decision-making. The idea behind this is the more involvement in the decision making process will create more buy-in and understanding with those who are carrying out the decisions. This creates a more collaborative culture, where stakeholders are working together towards a shared vision for school improvement (Hack & Hallinger, 2010). There are three types Participatory Leadership Styles according to Lewin: Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-faire. demonstrates the Participative Leadership Theory through the use the Democratic Leadership style. The Democratic Leadership Style encourages all members to contribute thoughts and opinions even though the final decision remains with the leaders. The benefits to the Democratic Leadership Style include higher productivity rate, improved morale, deeper understanding, more creative solutions, and commitment (Hack & Hallinger, 2010). demonstrates the Participative Leadership Theory through the use the Democratic Leadership style by involving multiple teams or groups in the decision making process with major and minor details. Some of the teams that we have at are the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) management team, School Leadership team and the Instructional Cabinet.
The PBIS Management team works together to implement our behavior programs. The PBIS Management team consists of various stakeholders including: school guidance counselor, administration, teachers and parents. The goal of the PBIS management team is to set high academic standards to prepare students for college and career readiness by providing a safe place to learn through the use of PBIS philosophies to teach expectations, reward positive behavior and provide supports and intervention to students in need. The team reviews positive data through our “passport” system and negative data through our minor incident reports (MIRs) and office disciplinary referrals (ODRS). This data is then shared with the whole school to gather thoughts and suggestions on how to increase positive