Leadership Strategy For Optimizing Teacher Skills

PAPER LEADERSHIP STRATEGY FOR OPTIMIZING TEACHER SKILLS A. Background According to Hafizi, Z. (2021, p. 5), Leadership is a person's ability or ability to influence others to do something in accordance with the goals achieved. Leadership is an important force in the framework of management. Therefore, effective leadership is the key to the success of leaders in an organization. Good leadership certainly has a great impact on the achievement of organizational goals because the leader has an influence on the performance they lead. The concept of leadership is closely related to the concept of power. With power, the leader gets a tool to influence the behavior of his followers. The principal as the leader of the education unit has a central power to become a driving force for the school. In the school environment there are various individuals with different characteristics. The existence of these different characteristics causes differences in the performance of educational staff, especially teachers. The principal as a leader has the responsibility to improve teacher performance. In this discussion, our group will discuss leadership strategies in influencing teacher performance. B. Definition of Leadership Griffin and Ebert (in Wijono, S., 2018, p. Another understanding was expressed by Gibson (in Andang, 2014, p. Bafadal (in Andang, 2014, p. 38) Explain leadership is the whole process of influencing, encouraging, inviting, and moving and guiding others in the work process to think, behave, and act in accordance with the applicable rules in achieving the stated goals. Based on some of the leadership definitions above, we conclude that leadership is a person's effort to influence subordinates or members to carry out their duties to achieve the goals to be achieved. Leadership behavior can be demonstrated through the role played by a leader to achieve effective performance in leading others as followers in certain situations, both in groups and organizations. A leader is expected to influence, support and provide motivation so that subordinates or members are willing to carry out their work or duties enthusiastically and enthusiastically in achieving the desired goals. C. Types and Style of Leadership In carrying out leadership duties and functions, leadership activities will take place. A leader has a different style in carrying out his leadership. Some leadership styles (in Andang, 2014, pp. 43-44), namely: 1) The style of leaders who are patterned in the interests of carrying out tasks. In achieving organizational goals a leader uses leadership style based on how the organization's tasks can be completed. 2) Leadership style that has patterned in the implementation of cooperative relationships. In achieving the goals of the organization leader with this style is based on the implementation of cooperative relations. The better the cooperation that is established, both internal and external, the more effective the organizational goals achieved. 3) Leadership style that has patterned in the interests of the results achieved. In achieving the goals of the leader organization with gay aini only prioritizing the results achieved and do not care about the process to achieve organizational goals. The types of leadership are as follows; 1) Authoritarian leadership type. In this type the power is in the hands of one person, the leader so that the leader will act as the sole ruler. The duties of subordinates or members are only limited to the implementing decisions, orders, and the will of the leader. 2) Type of free control leadership. This type is the opposite of the authoritarian leadership type. Leaders with this type are domiciled as a symbol of the organization where leadership is carried out by giving full freedom to his subordinates in making decisions and carrying out activities. In this type the leader functions as an advisor. 3) Democratic leadership type. In this type humans are placed as the main and most important factors in groups or organizations. In making decisions leaders who use this type of democratic leadership will prioritize deliberation. A leader, in carrying out his leadership will use a certain style and type of leadership with their respective characteristics. Therefore, there is no best leadership that exists is the most effective leadership. The most effective leadership is leadership that can affect and move their members or subordinates to achieve the shared goals that have been set. Leadership will be effective if the style and type of leadership are used well and at the right time and place. D. Principal's Leadership Leadership is a process of influencing in determining organizational goals, motivating subordinate behavior to achieve goals, influence to improve groups and culture. Leadership is also interpreted as a process to direct and influence activities related to the work of their subordinates. Leadership is a very influential thing in the organization, this is because most of the success and failure of an organization is determined by leadership in the organization. Likewise in the world of education, especially schools, leadership is needed to run the school. Leaders in schools are school principals. The principal is a functional teacher who is given the task and mandate to lead a school where a teaching and learning process is held, or a place where the interaction between teachers who give lessons and students who receive lessons. The principal is one of the many components of education that has an important role in improving the quality of education. The principal is responsible for the implementation of educational activities, school administration, fostering education staff, and utilization and maintenance of facilities and infrastructure. The principal as a leader has the task of conducting an assessment of teacher performance. Assessment is important to be done considering its function as a motivational tool for leaders to the teacher and for the teacher himself. The implementation of coaching, guidance, and motivation given by the principal will have an impact on teacher performance in the quality of teaching E. Principal's Leadership Strategy Strategy is the setting of long -term goals that form the basis of an organization or institution, and the selection of alternative actions and allocation of resources needed to achieve goals. Leadership is a process of influencing in determining organizational goals, motivating subordinate behavior to achieve goals, influence to improve groups and culture. So, the leadership strategy is the rangkain of the plan as a target, policy or purpose set by a leader in accordance with existing conditions, so as to be able to realize or achieve an organizational goal. The purpose in question if it is associated with the principal's leadership strategy is the goal to be achieved, namely improving school quality. The principal as an educational leader who is in school plays an important role in determining and bringing the school he leads to gain good quality. This can be realized if the principal can create a strategy that is relevant to conditions in improving teacher performance so that the teacher will work optimally. According to Raihani the principal can carry out several strategies to improve teacher performance. The strategy, namely: 1) Prediction strategy. This strategy includes themes of upholding discipline, providing motivation and building trust. 2) Academic strategy. This strategy refers to the curriculum and development of school programs to improve teacher insights. 3) Non-academic strategy. This strategy refers to extracurricular activities, the teacher is responsible for coordinating the extracurricular. 4) Supporting strategies. To support academic and non-academic programs, which includes the application of the development of school facilities, and providing supporting programs is a strategy designed to serve students and teachers. 5) Evaluative strategy. The principal regularly evaluates school programs. General evaluation is held every year and students are assigned to fill in an evaluation survey every year concerning school programs and school leadership. F. The Role of the Principal in Improving Teacher Performance In carrying out their duties and functions, the principal has their respective leadership style, it is a hearing of the performance of educational staff in their respective work environment. The success and failure of the school is determined by the principal, because the principal is a controller and determinant of the direction to be taken by the school towards their destination. Teachers as educators are required to have adequate competence. To realize the creation of competent teachers, it requires a serious and comprehensive effort and effort in improving teacher competencies. One effort that can be made is through the optimization of the role of the principal. The principal as a manager has the task of developing personnel performance, especially in improving teacher professional competence. The role of the principal to improve teacher competence, namely: 1) Principal as a manager. One of the tasks of the principal is to carry out the maintenance and development activities of the teacher profession. The principal must be able to facilitate and provide extensive opportunities for teachers to carry out professional development activities through various education and training such as MGMP, In House Training, Professional Discussions, or Training outside of school. 2) Principal as an educator (educator). Principals who are highly committed and focus on the development of curriculum and teaching and learning activities in their schools, of course, will pay attention to the level of competencies possessed by their teachers, as well as to facilitate and encourage teachers to continuously improve their competence. 3) Principal as an administrator. With regard to financial management, to improve teacher competencies certainly requires costs. How much school can allocate a budget to increase teacher competencies will certainly affect the level of competence of teachers. Therefore, the principal must be able to allocate an adequate budget for efforts to improve teacher competencies. 4) Principal as an evaluator. To assess the performance of teachers and school staff in carrying out their main tasks and responsibilities to improve the quality of education. The principal fosters teachers in utilizing the results of assessment to improve the quality of education. Evaluation is the measurement of the achievement of educational programs, planning an educational program including the curriculum and its implementation, procurement and improvement of teachers' abilities, education management, and overall educational reform. 5) Principal as a supervisor. To find out the extent to which the teacher is able to carry out learning, the principal needs to carry out supervision activities, which can be done through class visits to observe the learning process directly, especially in the selection and use of methods, the media used and student involvement in the learning process. 6) Principal as leadership (leader). In the theory of leadership there are two leadership styles, namely leadership oriented to the task and leadership that is oriented towards humans. In order to improve teacher competence, a principal can apply the two leadership styles precisely and flexiblely, adapted to the conditions and needs that exist. 7) Principal as an innovator. The principal as an innovator is expected to be able to provide new innovations in his leadership. Because of the advancement of technology, the principal must be able to hold new things for the advancement of education. 8) Principal as an entrepreneurship In applying the principles of entrepreneurship are associated with increasing teacher competencies, the principal must be able to create renewal, comparative advantage, and utilize various opportunities. The principal with a strong attitude of authority will dare to make innovative changes in his school, including changes in matters relating to the learning process of students and their teacher's competencies. In his role to improve the performance of education personnel, the principal is responsible for directing what is good for education personnel, and the principal himself must do good. The principal's behavior must be able to encourage the performance of teachers by showing friendly, close, and full of consideration of the teachers, both as individuals and groups. Positive principal behavior can encourage and motivate teachers to work together and improve their performance in order to realize educational goals.