Transformational leadership and role modeling
This blog is about my own experiences as a black belt Taekwondo student, which are grounded in practice and research and other sources about Taekwondo. I hope this blog is a good read for Taekwondo students (past, present and future), because I believe that students under the guidance of good instructors will not only learn the art, but will also learn to live the virtues that this art stands for and who will be able to bundle up their knowledge that allows them to
“take it into your life.”
The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
– Ralf Nader
I can imagine that some of my readers started to wonder about this blog the moment they read the title. What could learning Taekwondo or teaching Taekwondo could possibly have in common with transformational leadership? Or they ask, what is transformational leadership and what does it do? Well, according to Burns (1978), who pretty much coined this term, transformational leadership is a leadership style that does not simply require or demand followership, loyalty or respect. It is a leadership style that aims to transform and “occurs when one or more person engage with others in such a way that leaders and follower raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality” (p.20).
Anyone who practices Taekwondo in a good school will undoubtedly learn about the tenets of Taekwondo: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. Those who are researching Taekwondo schools for themselves or their children with the idea of starting to practice this particular martial art, will learn that most Taekwondo schools will somewhere mention something relating to character development which is linked to morality and good, ethical behaviors and doing what is right.
One however, needs to keep in mind that not all Taekwondo schools who advertise “character development” actually do so, and also, that not all instructors focus on this aspect of Taekwondo, even though they claim that they do. Some instructors have a do-as-I-say attitude, and might lack interpersonal intelligence and or sensitivity, or worse, integrity, which are some key characteristics of transformational leaders (Gelb, 2016).
Character development or learning to achieve a higher sense of morality does not occur in a vacuum, neither does it occur without good role-models, be that at school, at work, or in organized sports, such as Taekwondo. Character development and morality, according to Bandura (2010) is a process called social learning that requires good role models, which also is a trait of true transformational leaders (Riggio, 2014).
Most Taekwondo instructors I have encountered really live Taekwondo, it is their lifestyle and they conduct themselves accordingly, inside and outside their dojangs. They are courteous, self-controlled, show indomitable spirit and perseverance (otherwise they would not be where they are), and most of all, they have integrity, they live what they ask others to do. Those instructors also have a strong sense of humility, they don’t brag, and they don’t point out how great they are at every occasion, but who emphasize their skills by practicing and doing. They let their actions speak louder than their words. It is those instructors who instill those values in their students from the moment they first step on that mat in their dojangs by setting standards for practice and most importantly, moral and ethical behaviors. Those instructors will also teach their higher belts to “teach” novices or lower-ranking students, as it is a means to help pass on what is learned, but most of all, it is creating leaders who in turn create leaders. It is a practice that becomes second nature and students of Taekwondo will take these skills outside their dojangs, and becoming transformational leaders without even being really aware of it. They become those leaders by helping someone in class that is struggling, by opening a door and simply being courteous to others, they are paying it forward.
True transformational leaders / instructors of Taekwondo should have the following qualities that they undoubtedly will pass on through processes of role modeling and social learning and with that, allow students to take Taekwondo into their lives:
– They are authentic
– They role-model what they preach (the tenets of Taekwondo)
– They earn loyalty and respect and don’t demand it simply because they own a school
– They have in interest in their students lives and want them to succeed (in TKD and llfe)
– They will not mistake inattention with disrespect, but rather, find out what is going on in
the student’s live
– They let students teach and allow them to be leaders
– They allow students to show their strength and built on that
Students of Taekwondo will recognize a true transformational leader when they see one, they will recognize those who are not. The instructor who preaches courtesy but rolls his or her eyes at a students performance is not a transformational leader. Neither is the instructor who allows bad words in his/her dojang. Neither is the instructor who discourages, or worse, prohibits, cross training in other martial arts but who has black belt in five disciplines.
In sum, in good Taekwondo schools, the instructors are transformational leaders who through their actions and words create more leaders who do the same, who through their own sense of morality and ethical behaviors create a more peaceful world and who become champions of freedoms of justice in their own life-worlds.
If you like to read more about what Taekwondo can do, please check out the link to my publications, “Beyond the dojang: A phenomenological perspective on transferring the virtues of Taekwondo into daily life,” and “Taekwondo, more than a martial art, a journey for life.”
References:
Bandura, A. (2010). Self-Efficay. doi: 10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0836
Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
Gelb, M. J. (2016). Conscious capitalism: The 8 characteristics of transformational leaders. Retrieved from: http://michaelgelb.com/programs/conscious-capitalism-the-8-characteristics-of-transformational-leaders/
Riggio, R. E. (2014). The 4 Elements of transformational leaders. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201411/the-4-elements-transformational-leaders
Roesner, P.M. (2012). Beyond the dodging: A phenomenological perspective on transferring the virtues of Taekwondo into daily life. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest