In 2013, the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 was released which

outlined 11 shifts that will need to implement in our education system. The fifth shift in
this plan is to ensure high-performing school leaders in every school. A high-performing
principals/ headmasters in primary schools are important to ensure the successfulness
of school performance. International research on school leadership shows that an
outstanding principal - one who is focused on instructional and not administrative
leadership can raise student outcomes by as much as 20% (Education Blueprint
2013-2025, 2012). Therefore, types of leadership practiced by the headmasters are
important because it will give either positive or negative impact to the schools
community.

According to Blake & Mouton (1964), there are four types of leadership which are
autocratic, human relations, democratic and laissez faire. An autocratic leader gives
high emphasis on performance and a low emphasis on people. To get the job done, an
autocratic leader relies on power and hard work with minimal employee involvement.
However, a human relations leader gives low emphasis on performance and a high
emphasis on people. This type of leader relies on teamwork and good relationship to
get the job done. Next, a democratic leader gives high emphasis on performance and
people. The leader motivate and managing individuals in order to reach organizational
as well as their own personal objectives. Lastly, a laissez faire leader gives low
emphasis on performance and people. The leader just do enough to get the job done
and leave people alone as much as possible. Every school leader has its own way to
choose their leadership style.

During my last teaching practical, I noticed that the school headmistress

practiced a democratic leadership styles. Based on my experiences and observation, I
believed that this school leader possesses some characteristics as democratic leader.
She is a character builder, a communicator, a change master, an educator and also a
facilitator to the teachers, staff and students. I really admire her leadership styles

because I can see that the school communities are comfortable to do their work and the
school performance also increases from year to year.

The first characteristic of a democratic school leader is being a character builder

to the school community. A character builder is a role model whose values, words, and
deeds are marked by trustworthiness, integrity, authenticity, respect, generosity, and
humility. The leader is a decisive decision maker who emphasizes team decisionmaking but also makes some decisions alone ( ). I still remembered the time when we
had a school meeting where the headmistress came out with an issue and gave the
freedom for the teachers to voice out their views or ideas. I rarely see this type of
leadership in school. Usually, the school leaders will come out with their own decision
and ask the subordinates to follow their plan. However, it is different with my school
headmistress leadership styles. She facilitated the discussion and encouraged the
teachers to share their ideas and then synthesizing all the available information into the
final decision. She also even asked the teacher trainees to contribute ideas for the
school. I was touched with the discussion and hope that I can have a good leader like
her in my future teaching.

The second characteristic of a democratic leader possesses by the headmistress

is having open communication. Communication is open, two-way and genuine ( ).
Whenever she talks either in meeting or in informal discussion, she always ensures that
there is two-way communication. She was able to create an environment where the
teachers feel very comfortable not just receiving information, but also sharing
information with her. In addition, she was also able to build trust among the teachers
through her genuine communication. She always being honest in whatever she says
and that make me proud of having a school leader like her.

Thirdly, the headmistress