Leadership is about looking at the needs of stakeholders

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Jul 28, 2011
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Leadership is the ability to get other people to do something significant that they might not otherwise do. It is energizing people toward a goal (Mills 2005). Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization (Google dictionary). Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations (Wikipedia). Therefore, leadership is also defined as a position to listen with enthusiasm, having an aspiring mind to be able to make a decisive action, empower and encourage others in a responsible, supportive and humble manner to inspire them to achieve set goals as planned.



A stakeholder is an individual or group with an interest in the success of an organization in fulfilling its mission—delivering intended results and maintaining the viability of its products, services and outcomes over time (reading foundation). Stakeholder is a party that has an interest in a company and can either affect or be affected by the business. The primary stakeholders in a typical corporation are its investors, employees, customers and suppliers. However, the modern theory of the idea goes beyond this original notion to include additional stakeholders such as a community, government or trade association (investopedia.com).

Therefore, stakeholders can be internal or external. Internal stakeholders are those who work within the school system on a daily basis and who largely control what goes on there. They include school staff, district staff, and, to some extent, school boards. External stakeholders are those outside the day-to-day work of the schools who have a strong interest in school outcomes but who do not directly determine what goes into producing those outcomes (investopedia.com). External stakeholders can do a number of things to support schools’ efforts to increase student achievement. Also, internal stakeholders clearly have greater capacity to produce positive change in schools, but they don’t have all of the power needed to sustain it (reading foundation).

Among of the leadership characteristics is about involving two or more people interacting with each other; is an interpersonal process in which a leader looks at fulfilling the needs of stakeholders. The followings are the reasons behind about why leadership is about looking at the needs of stakeholders:



Leadership looks at the needs of the
stakeholders in order to build sensible partnerships between the institution and the outsiders. School leaders look to the needs of the stakeholders in order to build strong partnerships. The community itself is at its best when its stakeholders know how the schools are performing and when they advocate for and collaboratively support improved outcomes. Educators know a great deal about “what works,” but they can’t bring about or sustain improvement on their own. Parents and community members must have a strong vested interest in the success of the schools and must co-own the outcomes produced (Smith et al., 2001).



Leadership looks at the needs of the stakeholders because stakeholders are important in contributions to an institution to reach its goals. If stakeholders are considered in leadership they tend to learn the key information to know about supporting the school’s effort to improve students’ learning outcomes; follow the progress of their own children and of the school as a whole, talking with teachers and school leaders about how the parent can help when results fall short of goals; and advocate at the school, district, and state levels for systems supports which will help produce and sustain improved results. Stakeholders tend to collaborate with school leaders to identify the variables they can influence which can make a difference in student outcomes; advocate at the community and state levels for systems supports-policies, priorities, training, and resources which will support improved outcomes; and support and promote the improvement agenda of the schools and district.



Leadership looks at the needs of the stakeholders because stakeholders are important in making a follow-up to institutional development. When the long-term success of a school system is deemed important, they must ask or questions: “to whom do the schools belong?” and “who has a long-term vested interest in the success of our schools and students?” In answering these questions, the leader of an institution quickly finds out at the doorstep of the constituents: the families who send their children to the schools, the taxpayers who support the schools, and the businesses who hire graduates. In this light, external stakeholders can be highly motivated and can become powerful drivers to help achieve and sustain positive change in educational intuitions (Turner, 1999). Stakeholders can also ask school boards and district leaders whether the community is realizing a strong educational return invested.

Leadership looks at the needs of the stakeholders because stakeholders are important in financing and funding. The needs of the stakeholders from what educators, external stakeholders and community engagement in schools is not merely about involvement in social events or traditional involvement in activities such as parent training, homework assistance, and general volunteering, but it is all about enabling fund-raising efforts and financial support in an educational institution (Moodley, 1999).

Leadership looks at the needs of the stakeholders so as to practice transparency and integrations. Here are the guidelines for engaging stakeholders as the practice of transparency and integration in leadership: The leader of an institution must take the lead to provide stakeholders the data and other information they need to be productive partners around student achievement. Partnership activities must be directly aligned with student achievement goals. Efforts must be collaborative and genuine. There are meaningful roles for each party to play and these must be clearly articulated. Information sharing must be transparent. Achievement data must be clear, accurate, and meaningful. All parties must operate from common values and a common vision for student achievement (Winch, 2002).

Conclusively, there is a ground interdependent between leadership in educational organizations and stakeholders. Previous literature suggests that in order to incorporate the needs of stakeholders it is necessary to allow the stakeholders to express their needs, views, and expectations in an appropriate forum (Smith et al, 2001). So, stakeholders are vitally important in fulfilling and meeting the expected outcome in leadership.
 

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