PIONEER WOMEN IN MANITOBA: EVIDENCE OF SERVANT-LEADERSHIP

Leadership was characterized as patriarchal and hierarchical during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Pioneer women were often not credited with leadership qualities although many, including school teachers, journalists, suffragettes, healthcare workers, and social activists played an important role in the development of Manitoba communities. This study hypothesized that women were engaged in unrecognized leadership strategies within that contemporary culture. This research explored whether three particular Manitoba pioneer women, Margaret Scott (1855-1931), Margret Benedictsson (1866- 1956), and Jessie McDermott (1870-1950), did, in fact, practice a form of leadership. This leadership form was identified as servant leadership and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) in his seminal work, Servant as Leader (197011991b). Areas of investigation included leadership theory; Manitoba history, and the role of women during the time period that was common to their lives, 1870-1930. Qualitative historical analysis methodology was used to examine the lives of the three women. Various primary sources (archival papers, autobiographies, newspapers, letters, historical photographs, and committee minutes) and secondary sources (texts related to Manitoba history, journal articles, and servant-leadership theory) were utilized. Data enabled the construction of biographical profiles of the lives of the three women. It was not the intent of the author to rewrite their histories, but rather to analyze their lives and related materials for evidence of the ten characteristics (or their proxies) of servant-leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, and foresight, commitment to the growth of people, stewardship, and building community

The Democratic School: First to serve, then to lead

Today there has been a shift in the organizational structure in our schools (Murphy and Seashore Louis, 1999). These include educational leadership shifts in roles, relationships, and responsibilities; the alteration of traditional patterns of relationships; and the fact that authority tends to be less hierarchical. Senge (1990) believes systems that change require a variety of leadership types at different times in organizational development. As schools move toward democratization, it appears that servant-leadership may be one such vehicle for possible systems change, within educational organizations. Servant-leadership is not a panacea. It is a transformational, democratic form of leadership that requires time to implement and to provide abundant opportunities to involve all members of the learning community. The following paper will present the theoretical framework of servant-leadership, a concept identified by Robert K. Greenleaf in his seminal work, The Servant as Leader (1970/1991), and link servant-leadership to current literature on democratic schools. The paper will conclude with suggestions for the sustainable development of servant-leadership in the educational milieu.

PIONEER WOMEN IN MANITOBA: EVIDENCE OF SERVANT-LEADERSHIP

Leadership was characterized as patriarchal and hierarchical during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Pioneer women were often not credited with leadership qualities although many, including school teachers, journalists, suffragettes, healthcare workers, and social activists played an important role in the development of Manitoba communities. This study hypothesized that women were engaged in unrecognized leadership strategies within that contemporary culture. This research explored whether three particular Manitoba pioneer women, Margaret Scott (1855-1931), Margret Benedictsson (1866- 1956), and Jessie McDermott (1870-1950), did, in fact, practice a form of leadership. This leadership form was identified as servant leadership and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) in his seminal work, Servant as Leader (197011991b). Areas of investigation included leadership theory; Manitoba history, and the role of women during the time period that was common to their lives, 1870-1930. Qualitative historical analysis methodology was used to examine the lives of the three women. Various primary sources (archival papers, autobiographies, newspapers, letters, historical photographs, and committee minutes) and secondary sources (texts related to Manitoba history, journal articles, and servant-leadership theory) were utilized. Data enabled the construction of biographical profiles of the lives of the three women. It was not the intent of the author to rewrite their histories, but rather to analyze their lives and related materials for evidence of the ten characteristics (or their proxies) of servant-leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, and foresight, commitment to the growth of people, stewardship, and building community

First Conversations With Manitoba Superintendents: Talking Their Walk

Thirty-seven superintendents lead public school divisions in the Province of Manitoba; their role is to implement the policies set out by the Board of Trustees. In a period of rapid educational change and growth in Manitoba, superintendents are increasingly concerned with rural/urban issues; the fallout from recent school division amalgamations; and local/global educational perspectives. The leadership style demonstrated by superintendents is crucial to their ability to respond appropriately and adequately to growing issues of cultural, economic, social, and community influences. This article describes a study of Manitoba superintendents and their perspectives on their leadership style. Their narrative are analyzed through the lens of servant-leadership as defined by Robert K. Greenleaf and an inventory of 10 related characteristics: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, conceptualization, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. It appears that this small sample of superintendents regard awareness, foresight, conceptualization, commitment to the growth of others, and building community as priorities in their leadership modus operandi.Dans la province du Manitoba, trente-sept surintendants dirigent les divisions d’écoles publiques, leur rôle étant de mettre en oeuvre les politiques établies par les conseils d’administration. En cette période d’évolution et de croissance éducationnelles rapides au Manitoba, les préoccupations des surintendants tournent davantage vers les enjeux ruraux/urbains; les conséquences des fusions récentes des divisions scolaires; et les perspectives éducationnelles locales/mondiales. Le style de leadership que démontrent les surintendants est un élément déterminant dans leur capacité de réagir de façon appropriée et adéquate aux enjeux découlant des influences culturelles, économiques, sociales et communautaires. Cet article décrit une étude portant sur des surintendants au Manitoba et leurs points de vue sur leur style de leadership. L’analyse de leur récit se fait par l’optique du leadership engagé, tel que défini par Robert K. Greenleaf, ainsi que par l’inventaire de 10 traits connexes : capacité d’écoute, empathie, ressourcement, prise de conscience, force de persuasion, prévoyance, conceptualisation, engagement face à l’épanouissement d’autrui, et développement communautaire. Les surintendants qui composent cet échantillon restreint semblent percevoir la prise de conscience, la prévoyance, la conceptualisation, l’engagement face à l’épanouissement d’autrui, et le développement communautaire comme priorités dans leur façon de diriger

Manitoba Women and Higher Education: Momentum to Stay the Course

Her education is the same as that of a man ... she is able to unfold and exercise her mental powers and faculties. She chooses her occupation in such a way as corresponds with her wishes, inclinations and natural abilities, and she works under conditions identical with man\u27s. Even if engaged as a practical working woman on some field or other, at other times of the day she may be educator, teacher, or nurse, as yet others she may exercise herself in art, or cultivate some branch of science, and yet others may be filling some demonstrative function. She joins in studies, enjoyments or social intercourse with either her sisters or with men, as she may please or occasion may serve. (Bebel cited in Kinnear, 1995, p. 5

First to serve and protect, then to lead: Exploring servant leadership as a foundation for Canadian policing

Canadian police leadership is in the spotlight. In May 2017, three Canadian government studies concluded that the organizational culture inside Canada’s national police force was dysfunctional and appeared to lack a culture of leader­ship. Similar criticisms were levelled against other Canadian police agencies, and the new Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was specifically mandated to address workplace bullying, harassment, and abuse of authority. In August 2018, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police 2018 Executive Global Studies program called on police leaders to demonstrate “courageous leadership’” to address the predatory and exclusionary behaviours found inside their agencies. In this concept paper, an alternative view of leadership is put forward as a framework to address these chal­lenges. Servant leadership is a moral/ethical perspective that should intuitively resonate with police officers, particularly the next generation of police leaders. To explore the case for adopting this leadership approach in Canadian policing, its foundational concepts are presented. A description of the limited academic research on servant leadership in policing is described, and the article concludes with recommendations and questions to direct future research on exploring servant leadership in the context of Canadian policing

Superintendent Leadership Style: A Gendered Discourse Analysis

Using a blend of social constructionism, critical feminism, and dialogue theory, the discourse of nine Manitoba superintendents is examined to determine if it illustrates particular gendered assumptions regarding superintendents\u27 leadership style. Qualitative inquiry and analysis methods were utilized to identify emerging themes, or topics of talk. Six topics of talk emerged in the discourse regarding leadership style. Since talk is a form of social action worthy of study in itself (Chase, 1995, p. 25), each of these topics was analyzed to illustrate how men and women in the superintendency in Manitoba negotiate a gendered social action when they talk about leadership. Introduction Discussions regarding gender and the superintendency inevitably begin by recognizing the persistence of the disproportionately low representation of women in the superintendency (Brunner, 2004; Glass, Bjork, & Brunner, 2000; Grogan, 2000; Reynolds, 2002; Skrla, 2003; Wallin, 2005). This finding is reflected noticeably in Manitoba, Canada where, during the 2004-2005 school year, only 5 of the 37 public school division chief superintendents were women. Bryant (2004) illustrated this situation by making three points regarding the Manitoba context: (a) since 2001 at the University of Manitoba alone, 66% of the graduates with a Masters in Educational Administration were women; (b) 65% of the teaching staff in Manitoba are women; and (c) 45% of inschool administrators are women. There is no lack of qualified females in the profession to warrant a low representation in the superintendency

Serve, Teach, and Lead: It’s All about Relationships

Once a person assumes the mantle of teacher, one becomes a leader, first, in the classroom and then in the school (Crippen, 2005). With this position comes a delicate power and responsibility to the moral imperative. As such, this issue is critical as a component of teacher preparation programs. Goodlad (2004) sounds the alarm that our teacher preparation programs are remiss in responding to the need for moral literacy in our schools. The following paper will introduce the philosophy of servant-leadership, a moral way of serving, as defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1970/1991) and will respond to Goodlad’s call with possibilities for preservice teachers that help them examine and define their role in contributing to the common good through servant-leadership

Across mountain and sea: Bringing language to linguists

We report on a project bringing Tlingit language speakers to the University of British Columbia (UBC) as resident consultants for one academic year. Spearheaded by community members, this project contributes to a model of “best practices” (Penfield et al. 2008) for community-based language research. Our goal was to establish a sustainable long-term collaboration by building community and scholarly capacity for language revitalization, research, and training. Our successful integration of theory, practice, and application included: (i) New relationships with fluent speakers from two Tlingit speech communities (Coastal and Inland). This is a breakthrough, as modern nation-state boundaries between Alaska (USA) and the Yukon Territory (Canada) have obscured traditional Coastal-Inland relations. To date, most linguistic research has focused on Coastal Tlingit, so having access to both varieties allows us to document previously un-described differences. (ii) Student training for future work on the language: a field methods course parallels the research project, allowing us to train several undergraduate and graduate students, a subset of which continue to work on the language. (iii) Collaboration between linguistic subfields: leveraging expertise in different subfields (phonology, syntax, semantics, linguistic ethnography, and language pedagogy) affords a breadth of scope that would otherwise be impossible. (iv) Inter-institutional and international collaboration: the project involves two research institutions (UBC and University of Alaska Southeast) in two different countries (Canada, USA). This is especially important in Canada, as no Canadian-based research is currently conducted on Inland Tlingit. (v) Outreach within the university community: the project features in the Language of the Year initiative undertaken by UBC Linguistics, which brings to the attention of the university community the contribution that field-based linguistic research makes to language stabilization and revitalization. Bringing speakers to linguists — what we call the Convergent Streams model — used to be very common, but is no longer widely practiced. However, sustained involvement of linguists with different types of expertise over an extended period of time permits rapid advance across several domains and maximizes the impact of scholarly research on language teaching efforts. Our experience suggests that Convergent Streams is most effective when hosts involve administrators early, arrange culturally appropriate compensation such as honoraria rather than salaries, organize transport and accommodation, monitor wellness needs and ensure timely access to medical services, coordinate socio-cultural support by offering meaningful companionship, and have a plan for return to the community. Penfield, Susan D., et al. (2008) Community collaborations: best practices for North American indigenous language documentation. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 191, 187-202