Transformational leadership is commonly known as leadership style associated with the management of an organization, whereby the leader inspires a positive change in the people he/she leads, to grow and improve an organization. However it is now also a concept which is being explored to add to the array of education approaches, especially in relation to teaching. Many studies have found that the characteristics and strengths of transformational leadership can be applied in the teaching and learning process with significant success. This approach has been embraced by the Faculty of Health Sciences (FOHS) and Centre for Education and Language (CEL) and through the many capacity building initiatives in this area at MAHSA University, it is hoped that all the lecturers in FOHS & CEL can evolve into effective and charismatic educators that employs Transformational leadership in their classes.
Teaching, which is a lecturer's core job function, is often perceived as an easy task by those outside academia. Many do not appreciate how challenging it is to make teaching effective and meaningful. This can only be achieves if the teaching is done with passion, and harmonized with an appropriate approach that is taken from the lecturer’s own experience of what works best to teach a particular body of knowledge to a particular group of students. Efforts to associate or blend the concept of transformational leadership with teaching are a step to make improvements in teaching and strengthen self-identity and self-quality as a lecturer.
By considering the four main elements that are the backbone of transformational leadership, and connected with teaching activities it is believed that it will yield positive results. The four main elements of transformational leadership are (1) charismatic, (2) individual consideration, (3) intellectual stimulation, and (4) inspirational motivation.
Charisma is a key attribute of transformational leadership. To be a charismatic person, a lecturer needs to maintain his or her authority to attract and convince others, especially students. This charisma can be increased through upgrades knowledge, exposure to extensive and diverse reading, and confident self-expression. Also, a lecture needs to avoid getting caught up in practices that can bring down his or her status as an educator, such as negative controversial matters and negative behaviours.
Individual consideration is the second characteristic of transformational leadership. This attribute is related to the ability of a lecturer or educator to recognize and understand those who are being mentored as individuals. This is very important in teaching, because each student is a unique individual, who differ from each other in most respects. Students also have different tendencies, characters, talents, different potentials, and weaknesses. It is crucial for lecturer to recognize this and employ, as much as possible, appropriate and effective individualized approaches for the individual students.
Next, intellectual stimulation is the third characteristic of transformational leadership. Intellectual stimulation is a key value in transformational leadership. It involves the ability of the leader or the individual to use elements of knowledge to influence and cultivate character of those who are led. This is very suitable for the field of teaching because it is co-relates with the formation of a person's character, attitude, and identity.
Inspirational motivation is the last characteristic of transformational leadership. This trait binds a person or a leader with characteristics that can motivate others. Inspirational motivation can convince the others about the vision and values they want to achieve, have strong communication skills which are assertive and persuasive.
In MAHSA University, the transformational leadership is instilled and nurtured among FOHS and CEL lecturers through the leadership of the faculty and the staff training series provided by Training & Performance Unit, under the Human Capital Managament Department of MAHSA University. The training series have equipped MAHSA educators with adequate soft skills and attributes that are required in implementing transformational leadership. Some of the training programmes provided include Adapting a New Corporate Ecosystem, Problem Solving Skills, Self-Confidence, Classroom Assessment Techniques, E-Assessment Methods, Examination Management, Education 4.0, Educational Psychology, Teaching Methodology (Flipped Classroom), and many more.
Other than that, MAHSA University through the Academic Affairs and EQUAL Committee (AAE) has been conducting monthly academic related talks under the Academic Transformational Series whereby leading educationists from other higher education institutions are invited to share their thoughts on redefining education delivery to meet present and future challenges. These series of talks conducted by MAHSA University have provided the MAHSA community with current knowledge and best practices that can be adopted for self-development and better teaching. Indirectly, the attributes of transformational leadership are instilled and nurtured among MAHSA’s community.
In conclusion, at MAHSA University, we have many educators who possess transformational leadership especially in the teaching and learning aspects. These academicians with transformational leadership have paved the way for MAHSA university to produce the highest quality graduates with attributes that are highly sought after by employers. Join us at the FOHS, CEL or any one of MAHSA University’s other faculties to experience a transformational educational journey that will set you on the path to a successful career.