Leadership behavior among professors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Leadership is an established well concept in administration area, but it has been introduced more deeply in education. Leadership actions are increasingly required in educational spaces in order to lead them to institutional goals. However, some factors keep educators away from these theoretical concepts such as varied demands, lack of time and financial and professional incentives. Moreover, there may be a decreased of effectiveness in their behaviors and a developmental impairment of the education institution. OBJECTIVE: This study's aim was to investigate which leadership behaviors are most performed by professors. METHODS: It was carried out a cross-sectional study of 20 professors from public and private institutions. A structured questionnaire "Leadership Skills and Behaviors Inventory" was applied through Google Forms application, including 27 statements reporting positive leadership behaviors and using Likert Scale from 1 to 5 for each answer. RESULTS: The most agreed and performed behaviors of interviewed professors were “shows enthusiasm and liking to their work” and “values the team's work and its ideas for improvement”. The least accomplished were “feel comfortable in face of unexpected events and difficult situations” and “take responsibility for all participants' work in their educational space”. CONCLUSION: Educators have points to be improved in relation to their leadership behaviors. Furthermore encouraging these professionals training becomes important to improve national education.