Abstract

Given the inherent challenges in headteacher transfer and succession process in Uganda, coupled with the extraordinary new challenges of school leadership, a headteacher’s cognitive, academic and technical competences are no longer sufficient for effective school leadership. This brings emotional intelligence to the fore of effective school leadership. In this multiple case study, I explored teachers’ perception of four transferred headteachers’ self-management competences in government secondary schools. I collected data from 12 teachers, three from each school, using key informant interview protocol. I established that three headteachers, whose transfer was due to forced, promotional, and overstay basis, were perceived to possess adequate social awareness leadership competences, while one headteacher, whose transfer was requested, was perceived to have limited self-management leadership competences. I did not establish a direct link between the basis of the four headteacher’s transfer and their social awareness competences. Accordingly, I recommend that all headteachers develop social awareness competences needed for resonant school leadership.

1. Introduction

Whereas transferring Headteachers (HTs) from one school to another can cause considerable disruption, the common belief is that HT transfer is a positive thing. Conventional wisdom holds that changing administrators improves school performance ^{1, 2}. The expected outcomes provide the rationale for rotating HTs whenever the need arises. In Uganda, movement of school leaders is precipitated by voluntary or involuntary factors such as retirement, promotion, overstay, requested, rejection, illness, or even death ¹. Ideally, the transfer exercise is motivated by the need to increase HTs’ leadership competence. Nevertheless, systemic rotational transfer of HTs in Uganda’s education system is a significant event in the HTs’ lives and the operations of the affected schools ⁴.

The outcomes of change in headship are reflected in the wide-ranging effects it can have on various stakeholders in the school system ⁴. The expectations of teachers, students, school boards, foundation bodies parents etc. determine the extent to which HT transfer affects the HTs themselves and the school the communities ⁵. In Uganda, school headship efficacy is largely determined by cognitive, academic, and technical competences. But given the leadership inefficiencies inherent in the HT transfer process, coupled with the mounting new demands of contemporary school leadership ⁶, such competences are insufficient for effective leadership. Against this backdrop, I explored transferred HTs’ social awareness competences in Uganda’s government secondary schools, from the lenses of the teachers who serve under the target HTs.

2. Statement of the Problem

My 15-year experience as HT and my study on HT transfer reveals cases where transfers have compromised HTs’ performance. First, the transfer exercise is often marred by favoritism, nepotism, and political interference ^{1, 7, 8}, which affects the morale of many hardworking HTs, thereby compromising their performance. Thus, it is no surprise that some transfers have led to strikes, resignation, sickness, decline in school performance, and even death ^{1, 9}. Secondly, HTs’ leadership efficacy has been determined basing on their cognitive, academic, and technical competences. So, given that all transferred HTs possess proven cognitive, academic, and technical competences, one wonders why amidst the demands of contemporary school headship, some HTs succeed while others fail. This suggests that there is a set of leadership competences that some HTs possess that others may not. Accordingly, I examined the emotional intelligence competences of the transferred HTs with focus of their social awareness competences, through the lenses of the teachers they lead.

1. How do teachers perceive the transferred HTs’ empathy competency in Central Uganda Government Secondary Schools?

2. How do teachers perceive the transferred HT’ organizational awareness competency in Central Uganda Government Secondary Schools?

3. How do teachers perceive the transferred HT’ service-orientation competency in Central Uganda Government Secondary Schools?

3. Methodology

This study was a multiple case study ¹⁰ conducted in four government schools, whose HTs were transferred to their current stations in the last five years. The four schools are located in Central Uganda and are codenamed; Benz SS, Toyota SS, Volvo SS, and Nissan SS, whose HTs were transferred on the basis of: forced, requested, promotional, and overstay considerations. Three teachers were purposively selected from each school to serve as the key respondents, giving a total of 12 participants. I did not directly involve the four HTs, much as they were the focus of the study, under the assumption that they may not be forthright giving accurate information regarding their emotional skills ^{10, 12}. I instead used teachers who have been in the four schools for a minimum of seven years, and who were in the four schools when the four HTs joined those schools. I held face to face interviews with the 12 teachers, each interview lasting for at least one hour. Each interview session was audio-recorded, with permission from the participants. Thereafter, I transcribed, content analyzed, coded, and organized the data into three emergent themes of: (i) Empathy (ii) Organizational awareness, and (iii) Service-orientation.

4. Theoretical Framework

In this study, I benchmarked ¹³ model of emotional intelligence leadership competences that highlight four domains of resonant leadership of: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management competences that enable leaders to accomplish fundamental leadership tasks. The four domains are closely intertwined with a dynamic relationship among them, and add a crucial set of skills for resonant leadership. In keeping with Goleman, I postulate that a HT who has no awareness of others’ feelings or whose emotions are out of control, is not likely to manage relationships or others. In short, social awareness leadership competences engender empathy and self-management, which combined, allow effective relationship management of a transferred HT in the new schools.

5. Literature Review

Headteacher transfer is the movement of HTs from one school to another as a requirement in Uganda’s public service standing orders. It happens when change in school leadership occurs by removing a HT from the school, she/he was heading and posting him/her to a different school, voluntarily or involuntarily. Voluntary transfer is one where HTs willingly choose to be transferred to other schools for various reasons ⁵. Involuntary transfers occur due to unsatisfactory performance or overstay in the same school. In my study, I considered four motives or bases of transfer as: requested, overstay, forced, and promotional transfers. Transfer of HTs go hand in hand with HT succession ^{15, 16}. Headteacher succession is replacing HTs in schools and an interactive sequencing process for changing school leaders that, positively or negatively, changes the dynamics of power and decision making that usually disrupts the schools’ organizational equilibrium ¹⁷. It is also the transition process that sustains, alters or eliminates important changes within schools, triggered by the transfer of a HT from one school and his/her replacement of the outgoing HT to take over from the school he/she is replacing ¹⁸.

Literature on organizational succession suggests that change in leaders may leads to one of four possible outcomes: (i) little or no effect, (ii) negative effect, (iii) positive effect, (iv) any combination of the above three effects or mixed effects. Besides these possible effects, HT transfer can be perplexing because of the perceived differences between the transfer outcomes that are anticipated and those that actually occur ¹⁹. This implies that Ministry of Education & Sports (MoES), governing bodies, headteachers, teachers, students, and communities are either happy or disappointed when the outcomes of HT transfer meet or fall short of their initial expectations.

Given that transfer of HTs is an education policy practice around the world, HTs are expected to play a significant role in improving leadership in the receiving schools ⁹. In Uganda, HTs are mandated to see to the effective school leadership of the schools they are transferred to. But in order for them to play their leadership roles effectively, transferred HTs need to possess certain competences that transcend the Weberian traditional leadership competences of the 19th and 20th centuries ⁴. Against this backdrop, emotional intelligence leadership competences become a key area of interest. Since change in headship is such a big deal to schools, one wonders how the basis or motive of a HT’s transfer shapes or influences her/his leadership competences, as perceived by teachers in the school a HT is transferred.

There is considerable agreement that leadership is the second most influential school factor on student learning after teachers, and a driving force in achieving school effectiveness, improving student achievement, and school culture ²⁰. In addition, empirical research suggests that the overall impact from increasing HT leadership competences exceeds the benefit from a comparable increase in the quality of a single teacher ²¹. Thus, a change of HT impacts on the school’s social conditions, can destabilize HT-teacher relationships ¹, and prompts new leaders to exercise their leadership in ways that concur with the expectations of those above or below them ¹⁹. In addition, a change of HT is a challenging and unpredictable process because the new HT can and usually changes the line of communication, realigns relationships of power, and affects decision making ²². All these factors combined, can offset the equilibrium of the school’s normal activities ²; which implies that a change of HT may be the most important event in the life of a school ²³.

However, even with this instability, a common-sense belief in Uganda is that transferring HTs is a positive thing, because changing HTs improves leadership and school performance, and thus, is a way to increase HTs’ leadership effectiveness. So, the potential benefits of transferring HTs provide the rationale for moving HTs when the need arises. The movement of HTs is precipitated by several environmental factors such as, HT retirement, illness, death, overstay, promotion, request, and forced ^{2 1}. But regardless of the reasons, HTs’ career move to other schools is a significant event in the HTs’ lives and the lives of schools. Accordingly, HT transfer is confusing because of the differences between the transfer effects that are anticipated, and those that actually occur. In Uganda, MoES, governing boards, HTs, teachers, students, and the community are often disappointed to realize that HT transfer did not meet their initial expectations ⁹. Indeed, HT transfer in Uganda is a mix of unplanned discontinuity and continuity i.e. discontinuity with the achievements of a HT’s immediate predecessor, and continuity with, or decline to the mediocre state of affairs preceding that predecessor. Nevertheless, while HT transfer accounts for varying degrees of disruption in the schools’ existing operations in Uganda, ²⁵ reported a story about government’s plans to massively transfer secondary school HTs in 2024 because of the positive change expected to appears by almost everyone involved.

Besides, as part of the MoES standing orders, HTs in government schools are under obligation to accept transfer to any school in any part of the country to pave way for them to get used to other places of work, and not to overstay at the same schools as if the schools were established for them ²⁵. But while HT transfer is intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness in school leadership, empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that over the years, the transfer process has been marred by favoritism, nepotism, and political interference. For instance, some powerful and well connected HTs in government schools remain confident that they can only be transferred to schools of their choice, at a time of their own choosing ^{1, 7, 8} highlight HT transfer practices that contravene formal and established procedural rules, leading to suspicions of corruption in form of tribal, religious, and gender biases in public office. ²⁶, reported a story of MoES transferring 100 HTs and Deputies many of whom had stayed between 15 and 16 years at their stations. Furthermore, ¹ shows that the transfer exercise at times faces resistance from HTs themselves and the schools to which to which some HTs are transferred.

The media has been instrumental in reporting HT transfer glitches thus: School Stuck with two HTs after one rejects transfer ^{3, 27}; Chaos as school board defies MoES over transfer of headteacher at Dokolo technical school who made a drastic rejection to the new HT during the handover ceremony ²⁸; MoES halts transfer of Mbale School head under allegations of political influence from the Commissioner ²⁹; Frequent HT transfers and posting HTs nearing retirement age, has crippled school ³⁰; Inspector General of Government recommends transfer or demotion of Old Kampala Secondary School HT due to maladministration, abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds ²⁹. ³⁰ has a story of the HT of 3Rs SS in Kasokoso, currently Buikwe District who committed suicide in river Ssezibwa because of transfer related issues.

For the less-connected HTs, transfers take on a very mysterious connotation as they anxiously wait for the announcement of their annual shuffle. So, the circumstances underlying Uganda’s HT transfer may encourage deleterious behaviour on the part of the HTs at their new stations. Those who are well connected may exploit this patronage to adopt a patronizing stance at their new stations. Those that are involuntarily transferred, say from reputable and relatively better resourced schools, to less reputable and poorly resources schools may despondently assume duty at their new stations, thereby making it difficult for them to adjust to the new environment they find themselves in. Headteachers, whose transfer is a promotion from smaller to bigger schools may find themselves overwhelmed by the politics and hectic nature of the schools’ operations ¹.

It should, however, be noted that HTs set the tone and mood of the school through their attitudes and actions. Specifically, the emotional climate set by HTs has been found to influence staff performance, including their sense of job satisfaction and commitment. What distinguishes great HTs from others is their ability to drive the emotions of those they lead in the right direction. The ability to understand and manage an individual’s and other people’s emotions is what emotional intelligence is all about ³¹. So, transferred HTs need to know that their emotional intelligence competences play a significant role in their ability to fulfill their daily responsibilities as leaders, to the extent that these competences are essential for effective school leadership ^{32, 36}

This is important because HT transfer is characterized by interactions between HTs and members of the receiving school community. It involves much more than replacing one HT with another. It means replacing a series of existing social relationships i.e. replacing social relationships established by the outgoing HT with new social relationships established by her/his successor ³³. This means HT transfer is more of a human resources issue than just an individual HT issue, and it involves integrating human resources into the school organization’s strategy ³⁴. So, HT transfer is about ensuring that the right HT is in the right school at the right time for the right reason ^{5, 35}.

So, today’s generation of HTs face unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Using these opportunities to mitigate the challenges require deeper understanding of the role of HTs, along with the technical and emotional competences needed to carry out that role effectively in the 21st century. Considerable research shows that HTs are actors in a social setting, responding to situational and contextual characteristics. The structure of school organizations and their social context, largely determine the necessary and appropriate competences HTs need to apply within the context of their school environment ³⁷. Different schools have different work environment. A favorable work environment leads to improved performance and high morale, while unfavorable environment leads to declining performance and morale. But among all the possible factors, a HT’s emotional intelligence leadership competences are a key determinant for a favorable or unfavorable school work environment [38.39].

According to ³⁷, 50 to 70% of how employees think that the organizational climate is linked to the actions of the leader. Given their position, leaders set the tone and mood of the organization, and this mood has been found to influence the performance of the entire organization, and can predict employees’ satisfaction and retention. For example, upbeat moods make people perceive others or events in a more positive light, boosting cooperation, fairness, and performance among a team. On the other hand, distressful emotions can decrease motivation, attention to details, and the ability to make decisions. Moreover, negative moods can take hours to fade away and, as a result, take a toll on people’s personal lives. This explains why people prefer to work with leaders who possess high levels of optimism, enthusiasm, and empathy than with leaders who come across as irritable, touchy, or domineering ^{13, 40}.

Since a leader’s main responsibility is to get things done through people, their success is influenced by the quality of their relationships with those they lead ¹³. People look for support, assurance, and clarity in their leaders, especially in times of uncertainty and/or change. What sets great leaders apart from the rest, is their ability to drive the emotions of those they lead in the right direction. Ability to understand and manage one’s own and other people’s emotions is what is known as emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize one’s own and other’s emotions and to use this information to guide one’s thoughts and actions. It is how one manages oneself in life and one’s relationships with others. Scholars recognize a number of emotional intelligence competences clustered into four domains of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. In my study, I focused on the third domain of self-awareness ⁴¹.

So, today’s generation of HTs face unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Using these opportunities to mitigate the challenges require deeper understanding of the role of HTs, along with the technical, academic, and emotional competences needed to carry out that role effectively in the 21st century. Considerable research shows that HTs are actors in a social setting, responding to situational and contextual characteristics. The structure of school organizations and their social context, largely determine the necessary and appropriate competences HTs need to apply within the context of their school environment. Different schools have different work environment. A favorable work environment leads to improved performance and high morale, while unfavorable environment leads to declining performance and morale. But among all the possible factors, a HT’s emotional intelligence is a key determinant of a favorable or unfavorable school work environment ^{32, 42}.

According to Goleman et al. (2013), 50 to 70% of employees think that the organizational climate is linked to the actions of the leader. Given their position, leaders set the tone and mood, which has been found to influence the performance of the entire organization, and can predict employees’ satisfaction and retention. An upbeat mood makes people perceive others or events in a more positive light, and boosts cooperation, fairness, and performance among a team. Distressful emotions decrease motivation, attention to details, and the ability to make decisions. Negative moods can take hours to fade away and, as such, take a toll on individuals’ personal lives. This explains why people prefer to work with leaders who possess high levels of optimism, enthusiasm, and empathy than working with leaders who are irritable, touchy, or domineering ^{43, 45}.

Since a leader’s main responsibility is to get things done through people, the leaders’ success is influenced by the quality of their relationships with those they lead. People look for support, assurance, and clarity in their leaders, especially in times of uncertainty and/or change. What sets great leaders apart from the rest is their ability to drive the emotions of those they lead in the right direction. Ability to understand and manage one’s own and other people’s emotions is what emotional intelligence is all about. It is the ability to recognize one’s own and other people’s emotions and to use this information to guide one’s thoughts and actions. It is how one manages oneself in life and one’s relationships with others. Emotional intelligence is clustered into four domains of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management ^{13, 44}. In my study, I focused on the domain of social-awareness.

Social awareness refers to ability to recognize and understand other people’s perspectives, feelings, and needs ¹³. Once a person is able to understand their emotions and how to handle them, it can easily extend to understanding emotions in other people. A leader with social awareness does not only understand other people’s emotions, but can also connect with them at a deeper level. This is called empathy, which translates into an instant and proper maneuver of difficult emotional situations. By being attuned to how others feel in the moment, a leader can say and do what is appropriate, whether it is calming fears, assuaging anger, or joining in good spirits.

Specifically, social awareness is understanding and taking an active interest in others’ emotions and perspectives i.e. empathy ⁴³; understanding the organization, including its network and politics i.e. organizational awareness; and recognizing and meeting other people’s needs, including employees’ and customers’ needs i.e. service-orientation ¹³. While self-awareness and self-control are crucial, so is the ability to discern the feelings of others around you. Being socially aware means being in tune with the feelings of people and the power dynamics at play in your workplace. Leaders with a high level of social awareness make an effort to empathize with their coworkers, which improves their ability to communicate and work together ⁴⁶.

6. Results

I requested teachers to give their perception of the four HTs’ empathy, organizational awareness, and service-orientation competences. I present the results below, starting with those of the HT of Benz SS, followed by that of Toyota SS, Volvo SS, and finally, Nissan SS. I present the results under the sub-themes of empathy, organizational awareness, and service-orientation competences.

Teachers’ Perception of Transferred Headteachers’ Empathy Competency

Teachers at Benz SS perceive their HT as highly empathetic and as someone who is able to adjust to people’s emotional waves. She is good at sensing a person’s or group’s undeclared emotions, is a good listener, and can easily get hold of another person’s perspective. She gets along well with the staff, students, and parents of diverse backgrounds, as pointed out by teaches thus; ‘‘She understands us…I mean the people she is working with and she always tries to know more about a person so as to know who she is talking to, and it always feels good….” (BT3). Once she learns that a teacher is having family issues, she spends some time with him/her…. she often connects with us, talks to us about our issues, and she tries to help us deal with many personal issues…. (BT1).

Teacher at Toyota SS perceive the HT as a leader with questionable empathy credentials, who is out of touch with a wide range of people’s emotional gestures. He seldom listens to people’s issues, and he does not get along well with people who subscribe to different religious beliefs. The teachers describe him thus;

‘‘I am sorry to be rude…but the man is a sociopath who has no feelings for others…he is a strictly business-as-usual kind of person who does not care about other people’s troubles….sometimes he tells people straight in the face that if they feel uncomfortable with the way he does things, they are free to leave and join a better school….our personal problems are not his concern, all he cares about is our work and students’ exam results…’’(TT2).

Similarly, another teacher revealed;

‘The word empathy or sympathy is not in his vocabulary…. he is the wrong person to turn to when you want a shoulder to cry on…he has this weird hatred for none — (meaning people who don’t subscribe to his faith)….I think he believes that we don’t belong here, and if this was not a government school, he would have had all of us transferred to other schools….he instigated transfer of many teachers in this category, including some who were due to retire in two years….the man does not have a heart….(TT1).

Teachers at Volvo SS consider their HT as very empathic, with ability to; adapt to a wide range of emotional signals, sense the felt but unspoken emotions in a person or group. He listens attentively to grasp other people’s perspective and he is able to get along well with people of diverse emotional disposition, backgrounds, and cultures. Teachers described the HT thus; “…. he is someone who is able to put himself in other people’s shoes…. his compassion and desire to understand the people he is working with enables him to get along with us as staff, student and parents…” (VT2). “…. he is such a good listener…. he attentively listens to you as you pour your soul out, and his facial expression shows that he can hear your fears, worries, frustrations, and reservations…” (VT1).

Finally, teachers at Nissan SS perceive their HT as empathetic, and sensitive to a wide range of emotional signals, with a strong sense of feeling the unspoken emotions in a person or group. He actively listens to, and can easily get the other person’s viewpoint. His empathetic nature enables him to get along well with people of diverse nature and backgrounds. “…. he has a calming effect on people that makes one feel tempted to express one’s grievances…. it is like making a confession to a priest….” (NT2).

Another teacher elaborated;

“…in meetings, he listens thoughtfully, picking up on all points, scrawling down the different views, as he carefully studies our body language, moods….he encourages us to speak freely, engages with us, and seeks clarification and evidence… even when he does not buy your idea or telling us what we don’t want to hear, he does it in such a way that makes us leave the meeting feeling that we made our point, and we were listened to” (NT2).

Teachers’ Perception of Transferred Headteachers’ Organizational Awareness competency

Benz SS HT is perceived by teachers as a leader who is capable of detecting key social networks, and power relationships. She is abreast with the group dynamics of the school, its guiding values, and the implicit rules that work among its key stakeholders.

‘‘Shortly after joining the school, she tried to understands the school’s dynamics and what goes on in the school as an institution…. the former HT was not on very good terms with the Bishop…but somehow, this lady did her homework well it seems, because she in good terms with the Bishop, who by the way is very demanding, and most of the people who matter in the school community…’’(BT2).

Another teacher intimated;

‘‘…..there was a group of mature male teachers who challenged the HT when she had just joined the school…they were good buddies with the former headmaster,…did not like the idea of having a woman as boss, and were afraid of losing their administrative positions in the school…somehow the lady won their support and as we speak, the old-timers are part of her closest advisers…the ringleader of the group is retiring this year, but he is singing praises to our lady boss…’’(BT3).

Teachers at Toyota SS perceive their HT as leader with limited ability to appreciate and take advantage of the critical social networks and key power relationships in the school. His understanding of the political forces in the school gravitates around appeasing members of the school’s founding body by appealing to their religious sentiments. “The moment he got here, he started fighting groups that he thought did not supporter him…. he is antagonizing social networks that served the school very well before he took over” (TT2).

‘‘He has undermined the very foundation of the school organization that was known for its inclusiveness and liberal views…teachers who made this school what it is today were not even (— the faith) but the then HT worked well with everybody and everybody called Toyota SS home….today, the man is running the school like a seminary….it is no wander he has a lot of opposition from stakeholders…he survives on bribing ministry of education officials and founding body members…”(TT3).

Teachers perceive Volvo SS HT as politically astute, with ability to detect key social networks, correctly read key power relationship, understand the forces at work in the school, as well as its guiding values and unspoken rules. The teachers validated their perception as follows;

“….as a young incoming HT, compared to his predecessor, we thought that he would be overwhelmed by the school’s poor infrastructure and its bad politics…surprisingly, he has turned out to be the opposite…. he took his time to study the school’s undercurrents, starting with us the staff, then the board, district education officers, parents…. what captivated us most was his honesty and determination to turn the school around…. he came up with ideas that we thought could not work…. today, everybody thinks his coming was a blessing from God…” (VT3).

Finally, teachers at Nissan SS see their leader as an astute political tactician able to detect crucial social networks and power relationships. He clearly understands the political forces at play in the school and its guiding values and unspoken rules, as described by one teacher;

“……at first, his calm approach to dealing with issues made us think that he was a door mat…however, he did his homework diligently and learnt who the friends and enemies of the school were…. his predecessor had connived with some board members to steal the school land…when he asked questions and didn’t get clear answers and documentation, he worked with trusted people in the school community….and in his soft way, he saved the school land, tactfully had the errant board members replaced, and successfully managed to limit undue interference in school matters from self-seeking members of the founding body….” (NT3).

Teachers’ Perception of Transferred Headteachers’ Service-orientation competency

Teacher at Benz SS construe the HT as a leader who promotes a customer care climate in the school. She is very keen at improving the relationship between staff, students and parents. She constantly monitors student satisfaction levels and ensures that they are well taken care of in their academic and non-academic needs. She is always at school and constantly moves around to ensure that all people are doing their part. One teacher shared;

‘‘…customer care is the password in this school…. everybody knows that students’ needs are number one priority because they are the reason we are a school in the first place…we also extend the same care to parents who come to school…we have this feeling that parents chose us for a reason, since we are not the only school in this area…we need to appreciate them as our customers too” (BT1).

Teachers at Toyota SS think that the HT has failed to foster an emotional climate that promotes good customer care and relationship in the school. He does not care much about student satisfaction. All he cares about is students’ academic performance. Although he is always at school, he spends most of the time in his office, listening to and basing on the information forwarded to him by his trusted cadres. One teacher mockingly said;

“If by customer satisfaction you mean students passing national exams, then we give him credit…. but if you mean care for students’ needs, you are mistaken….many students’ concerns are often ignored….parents who come to school are sometimes mistreated….those whose dress code is considered inappropriate by the gatemen are denied entry, and this is more or less at the discretion of the gate people…students who fail to report to school the first day of the term are made to report a week later…if a student says anything that discredits the faith, he/she is firmly delt with by the morality prefect, who may even have the student expelled if the case is forwarded to the HT” (TT1).

Teachers at Volvo SS perceive the HT a leader whose dedication to serve is beyond doubt. He was credited for fostering an emotional climate that puts the students’ and parents’ satisfaction first. This climate has restored hope in and support for the school. He constantly monitors students’ satisfaction in person to ensure that they are getting the little the school can afford to offer, which is considerable, compared to what it was four years earlier. He is always at school and at the staff’s, students’, and parents’ service. One teacher remarked;

His zeal to serve the school is amazing…. he is up and down everywhere, checking on students’ meals, dormitories…. he mingles well with students and staff, often asking whether everything is okey with whatever person he bumps into in and outside his office…if anything, he is a person who is everywhere at the same time…. he has taught us to always check on students’ welfare and be courteous and helpful to our village-based parents…. (VT1).

Relatedly, another teacher added;

“He is very keen with students’ welfare…before he came, few students were given lunch…. he changed this and insisted that every student must have lunch at school…he impressed it upon parents to contribute towards students’ feeding…this landed him in trouble with an overzealous politician to whom some parents complained….the HT was not intimidated and with help from the school board, foundation body, some parents, and the students themselves, a resolution was passed that every parent had to contribute to students feeding….this won the HT a lot of support….(NT3).

Finally, Nissan SS HT is perceived by teachers as a service-oriented leader with a strong focus on customer care and satisfaction, and on building relationships with parents. “…he takes students’ complaints very seriously and ensures they are addressed to the best of the school’s ability…” (NT1). “…. he doesn’t like students staying unattended to and he makes sure that we solve students issues promptly…” (NT3). “…he gives parents a lot of time, explaining why we need to introduce changes here and there…and why and how they should and can clear school dues in time to enable the school cater for children….and patents are co-operating fully with us…” (NT2).

7. Discussion

As regards, the four HTs’ perceived social awareness competences, Toyota SS HT, whose transfer was requested is perceived to have questionable empathy credentials, and is out of touch with a wide range of people’s emotional signs. He seldom listens to people’s issues, and does not seem to get along well with people, especially those whose religious beliefs differ from his. His ability to appreciate and take advantage of the critical social networks and key power relationships in the school, is limited. His understanding of the school’s power dynamics gravitates around appeasing board members by appealing to their religious sentiments. He has failed to foster an emotional climate that promotes good customer care and relationship in the school, and does not seem to care much about student satisfaction. All he cares about is students’ academic performance. Although he is always at school, he spends most of the time in his office, receiving information from his trusted cadres.

Hence, Toyota SS HT is what ¹³ labels a pace setter, who is motivated by a strong need to meet his own high standards of excellence in absence of other crucial emotional intelligence competences, which renders the drive to achieve to go awry ⁴⁵. His lack of empathy means he can casually focus on accomplishing tasks, while remaining oblivious to the rising distress in those who perform those tasks. Still in keeping with ¹³, Toyota HT’s limited empathy leaves the staff feeling pushed too hard by the HT’s relentless demands. Since he tends to be unclear about guidelines, teachers often have to second-guess what he wants. This results into loss of morale as the staff see their leader as driving them too hard, and feel that he does not trust them to get the job done in their own way. This is because the HT is so focused on his goals that he does not appear to care about the staff he is relying on to achieve those goals. The HT’s leadership is what ¹³ considers as leadership dissonance.

On the other hand, HTs of Benz SS, Volvo SS, and Nissan SS whose transfers were forced, requested, and overstay; are highly empathetic leaders who can easily adjust to people’s emotional waves. The three HTs are good at sensing other people’s undeclared emotions, are good listeners, and can get hold of other people’s perspective. They get along well with the staff, students, and parents of diverse backgrounds. In addition, they are good at detecting key social networks, and power relationships, and are abreast with the schools’ power dynamics, their guiding values, and the implicit rules that work among its key stakeholders. Finally, the three HTs promote a customer care climate in their schools, and are very keen to improve relationships between staff, students and parents. They constantly monitor student satisfaction levels, and ensure that the students’ academic and non-academic needs are met. Lastly, the three HTs are always at school and do constantly moves around to ensure that all people are doing the right thing part.

The three HTs are consistent with ¹³ attributes of leaders whose empathetic leadership permits them to attune to how others feel in the moment. The leaders say and do what is appropriate, whether it means calming fears, assuaging anger, or joining in good spirits. This attunement lets them sense the shared values and priorities that can guide the group. Empathy, which includes listening and taking other people’s perspectives, allows leaders to tune in to the emotional channels between people that create resonance ⁴⁶. Besides, staying attuned lets leaders fine-tune their message to keep it in synch. When leaders are being affiliative, they focus on the emotional needs of employees even over work goals ⁴⁷. The three HTs are what ¹³ would describe as affiliative leaders, who are able to sense the feelings, needs, and perspectives of others, allows leaders to keep people happy by caring for the whole person, not just the work tasks for which someone is responsible. Their empathy makes them boosters of morale par excellence, lifting the spirits of employees even as they trudge through mundane or repetitive tasks ³².

8. Conclusion

In conclusion, three of the four HTs, whose transfer was forced, promotional, and overstay, possess high levels of social awareness competences due to their ability to recognize and understand others’ perspectives, feelings, and needs. As leaders, they understand others’ emotions and also connect with them at a deeper level. The three HTs are reasonably attuned to how others feel in the moment. Specifically, the three leaders are empathetic in terms of understanding and taking an active interest in others’ emotions and perspectives; are organizationally aware in terms of understanding the school organization, including its network and power dynamics; and are service-oriented in terms of recognizing and meeting others’ needs, including staff and students ‘and parents’ needs. However, the HT Toyota SS, whose transfer was requested, is perceived to possess limited social awareness competences due to his limited ability to recognize and understand others’ perspectives, feelings, and needs. He does not seem to understand other people’s emotions very well, and if he does, he does not seem to care much. This HT hardly takes active interest in others’ emotions and perspectives; his organizational awareness in only limited to people who have authority in the school organization, and his service-orientation is limited to producing impressive examination scores, other than recognizing and meeting other needs of the staff, students, and parents.

Recommendations

I recommend that other than relying entirely on their technical, cognitive, and academic skills, HTs need to develop social awareness skills that they need to effectively navigate the complex social environment of the schools they are transferred to, in order to be able to resonate with the feelings of others, build relationships, and make informed decisions in a calm and relaxed manner. Secondly, HTs should not only focus on understanding other people’s emotions, but should also develop the ability to connect with them at a deeper level. By being attuned to how others feel in the moment, HTs will be able to say and do what’s appropriate, be it calming fears, assuaging anger, or joining in good spirits.

References