The Need for Servant Leaders in a Post-Pandemic Educational Setting: A Personal Perspective

When I began my teaching journey in South Central, Los Angeles, my time there as a first-year teacher was a blessing because of the leadership team. The leadership team established multiple supporting systems that allowed me to enhance my pedagogical practices and methodology. But now, eight years and two schools later, I realized that what made the school successful was the style of the leadership team. There was a teacher-first attitude that permeated throughout the school culture. The administrators genuinely valued the staff and worked to create an environment where people felt safe, and their health was a priority. Reflecting on my first school and experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic as a teacher, I began to think about how leaders can support their teams in a post-pandemic educational setting. 

A survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD) reported that teachers work in isolation, rarely collaborate or observe their peers, and 46% of teachers reported never receiving feedback from their leaders (2014). Five years later, a report conducted by the United States Department of Education identified that teacher job satisfaction dropped by 15%, and teachers who are likely to leave the profession increased. Today, in 2022 after two years of suffering the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we see that teacher satisfaction in the profession is at risk.  Teachers transitioning from in-person learning to virtual learning to hybrid to in-person to virtual to hybrid and now back to in-person can bring many stressors, anxieties, and uneasiness in the educational setting. Steiner and Woo (2021) explored the issue of job-related stress among teachers and identified that nearly one in four teachers stated they were likely to leave their jobs. Gabor (2022) shared that the number of education job openings surged by almost 75% during the fall of 2021compared to last year.  It is evident that education is in a state of crisis leaving us looking for solutions to steady the education profession. Servant leaders are needed more today than ever before to meet the needs of teachers and ease their unprecedented levels of stress. 

If you are a teacher like me, you may have experienced multiple leadership styles; some, unfortunately, are managerially masked as leaders. A leader is defined as one who sees how things can be improved and rallies people to move toward a better vision (Morgan, 2020).  So how can a servant leader be a catalyst to combating the current needs of education?  Harper writes that a servant leader is sensitive to the needs of others, sensible, grounded, relatable, and can make practical, reasonable, and realistic decisions that require others to rise to certain expectations for the benefit of everyone (2020).  A servant leader empowers others, shows humility, is an active listener, and showcases stewardship.  

Leaders influence the individual and group’s behavior in the organization. Servant leaders support teachers as they return to the classroom post-Covid-19 pandemic because of the value-oriented approach. When teachers feel valued, trust is increased because they know their leader has their best interest at heart.  Leaders who practice servant leadership explain the “why” instead of the how; they are not micro-managers but share the vision and goals with their team and allow them to be part of the journey.  Lastly, servant leaders ask, “how can I help” (Hauden, 2020).  When teachers feel overwhelmed with work expectations and behavioral challenges, this meaningful and straightforward empathetic concern can go a long way.  For instance, instead of being told what the expectations and goals are, a servant leader will share common goals and work with their team to incorporate milestones of growth and balance so that the team members do not feel burned out.

As teachers return to the classrooms, I would argue that it is vital for leaders to reflect upon and apply parts of the servant leadership approach to their leadership practices.  Researchers methods to meet the needs of their teachers in the same way that teachers adapt their instruction to meet the needs of their students.  This type of flexibility and adaptations would help ease the stress and overcome the hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

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References:

Gabor, A. (2022, January 8). Teacher Shortages will linger when the pandemic wanes. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-01-08/teacher-shortages-will-linger-when-the-pandemic-wanes 

Gucel, C., Begec, S. (2012). The effects of the servant leadership on organizational citizenship behavior: A case study of a university. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 4(1). https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/257250 

Harper, N. (2020, October 28). Servant leadership in your school. Retrieved from https://www.yeseep.org/blog/servant-leadership-in-your-school 

Hauden, J. (2020, October 26). 6 reasons why servant leadership is best. Retrieved from https://www.rootinc.com/why-servant-leadership-really-works/ 

Morgan, J. (2020, January 6). What is leadership, and who is a leader? Retrieved from https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/01/06/what-is-leadership-and-who-is-a-leader/ 

OECD. (2014, June 25). Teachers love their job but feel undervalued, unsupported and unrecognized. Retrieved from https://web-archive.oecd.org/2014-06-25/309150-teachers-love-their-job-but-feel-undervalued-unsupported-and-unrecognised.htm 

Steiner, E.D, Woo, A. (2021). Job-related stress threatens the teacher supply. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-1.html