Path-Goal Theory And Servant Leadership Analysis

The real person who has made an impact on not only myself, but a great deal of people in the community over quite a few years is Ms. Barbara Neiman of Brockton Avenue Elementary School. Working in different fields over the course of her life, Ms. Neiman has had to convert to various styles of leadership. Since she has had to alter the ways in which she leads, I selected pieces from three different practices that I believe best fit her: The Path-Goal Theory, Servant Leadership, and a little bit from the Behavioral Approach.

According to the text, the “Path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish designated goals” (Northouse, 2016, p.115). The basic idea is that leaders: defines goals, clarifies the path, removes obstacles

Once a week, Ms. Neiman has an occupational therapist visit our nonverbal student and our student with autism. Occupational therapist uses special equipment to help children with developmental disabilities, they help students develop and improve the skills needed for daily living. The occupational therapist uses techniques that work the children’s brain, for the nonverbal student since she is at a lower learning level she is teaching her to match colors and unscrew lids. For the student with autism, she is teaching him to tie knots and how to properly draw shapes. She removes the obstacles for the children by supplying the students with the necessary specific help needed in the areas in which the students are lacking or not doing well. One of the gestures Ms. Neiman wanted the nonverbal student to learn was, “I want more”. In trying to do so, she contacted the speech therapist for her input. The speech therapist found a device where she could record her voice saying “I want more” and the student could press the button when trying to relay that message. Ms. Neiman tried the device for about a month and she realized the student was not responding to the button. She removed trying to teach the student how

Neiman does. Working at the same school for 14 years, she has seen many faces come and go. She knows a lot of the parents of students from kindergarten all the way up to the 5th grade, ones who have graduated and gone to middle school and even high school. Everyday there are students who walk by and yell out, “Hi Ms. Neiman!” and parents who stop by just to give her a hug and see how she is doing. She has stayed in contact with a family of a boy she used to teach about 9 years ago, because of his special needs, the family was not sure if he was going to be able to have a Bar Mitzvah. A few months ago, the boy’s mother called Ms. Neiman thanking her for having patience with her son and teaching him so many wonderful things, she invited her to his Bar Mitzvah this upcoming summer in London. Most recently, a father of one of her old students came back to visit and was expressing his gratitude for her helping his son and even offered her a position to tutor him a few times a week when she retires. For the past 14 years, Ms. Neiman has been the G.A.T.E. (Gifted and Talented Education) Coordinator. The coordinators of G.A.T.E. are responsible for developing educational opportunities for students, including underrepresented populations, by searching for and referring