Exploring Professional Leadership

Concepts and evidence of leadership

Objectives

• To provide an avenue for articulation of what we have learnt and experienced about educational leadership

• To share empirical observations of how different types of leadership function in real school contexts

• To enrich our understanding of the key concepts of leadership discussed in recent research

• To enrich our vocabulary for discourse on leadership

Mean anything to U?

• The pessimist complains about the direction of the wind, the optimist expects the direction to change, but the leader simply adjusts the sails. Anonymous

• Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the

ladder is leaning against the right wall. Stephen Covey

References

• School Leadership: Concepts and Evidence (http://www.ncsl.org.uk/mediastore/image2/bush-school-leadership-full.pdf)

• Distributed Leadership

(http://newportal.ncsl.org.uk/media/F7A/87/bennett-distributed-leadership-full.pdf)

• Ten questions for school leaders

(http://www.ncsl.org.uk/mediastore/image2/kpool-evidence-green.pdf)

Defining leadership

30 words in 3 minutes

Leadership

is …

Defining leadership

LeadershipLeadership

InfluenceInfluencevaluesvalues visionvision

Working definitionWorking definition

Leadership is a process of influence leading to the achievement of desired purposes. Successful leaders develop a vision for their

schools based on their personal and professional values. They articulate this vision at every opportunity and influence their staff

and other stakeholders to share the vision. The philosophy, structures and activities of the school are geared towards the

achievement of this shared vision.

Word of caution

• The current emphasis on vision in leadership can be misleading. Vision can blind leaders in a number of ways… The high-powered, charismatic principal who “radically transforms the school” in four or five years can… be blinding and misleading as a role model… my hypothesis would be that most such schools would decline after the leader leaves… Principals are blinded by their own vision when they feel they must manipulate the teachers and the school culture to conform to it. (Fullan, 1992, p. 19)

Leadership & Management

Administration Management Leadership

Maintenance Development

- Maintaining current organisational arrangement

- Related to implementation and technical issues

linked with change

influencing others’ action in achieving desirable goals

What if?

Over-managed Under-led

Under-managed Over-led

Which is more important? Management or Leadership?

Brainstorming about types of leadership

MoralParticipative

Contingent

Post-modern

Transform-ational

Managerial Inter-personal

Instructional

Sharpening the focus

Leadership in action

Instructional Transforma-tional Participative Moral

Practicalising theories

Instructional leadership

Research findings

Practice

Effective instructional leadership comprises:• A sharp focus on learning and teaching• Talking with teachers • Promoting teachers’ professional growth • Fostering teacher reflection

Effective instructional leadership comprises:• A sharp focus on learning and teaching• Talking with teachers • Promoting teachers’ professional growth • Fostering teacher reflection

Some effective strategies:

• Modelling

• Monitoring

• Professional dialogue and discussion

Some effective strategies:

• Modelling

• Monitoring

• Professional dialogue and discussion

Practicalising theories

Transformational leadership

Research findings

Practice Higher level of commitment +

Greater capacities = extra effort + greater productivity

Higher level of commitment +

Greater capacities = extra effort + greater productivity

• Transformational leadership occurs when one or more teachers engage with others in such a way that administrators and teachers raise one another to higher levels of commitment and dedication, motivation and morality.

• Successful principals are both transactional and transformative

• Transformational leadership occurs when one or more teachers engage with others in such a way that administrators and teachers raise one another to higher levels of commitment and dedication, motivation and morality.

• Successful principals are both transactional and transformative

Practicalising theories

Participative leadership

Research findings

Practice • Collaborative decision making• Collaborative decision making

• People are more likely to implement decisions which they have participated in making

• Evidence of successful implementation of participative leadership in schools is sparse

• People are more likely to implement decisions which they have participated in making

• Evidence of successful implementation of participative leadership in schools is sparse

Practicalising theories

Moral leadership

Research findings

Practice Outstanding heads demonstrate the following values and beliefs through their words and deeds: inclusivity, equal opportunities, equity or justice, high expectations, engagement with stakeholders, co-operation, teamwork, commitment and understanding

Outstanding heads demonstrate the following values and beliefs through their words and deeds: inclusivity, equal opportunities, equity or justice, high expectations, engagement with stakeholders, co-operation, teamwork, commitment and understanding

• Similar to transformational leadership but with a stronger emphasis on values and beliefs

• Providing schools with a clear sense of purpose• The metaphors – the heart, the head and the hand

of leadership

• Similar to transformational leadership but with a stronger emphasis on values and beliefs

• Providing schools with a clear sense of purpose• The metaphors – the heart, the head and the hand

of leadership

Making judgements

Moral

Instructional

Participative

ContingentPost-

modern

Transform-ational

Managerial

Inter-personal

Making judgements

• Most successful leaders are – likely to embody most or all of these

approaches in their work.– Able to carry out effective situational analysis

and adapt their approaches to the specific context.

Triangulation - DOD

Document StudyDocument Study ObservationObservation DiscussionDiscussion

Study of SHS results, SSA, KPM and other relevant school documents to inform drafting of enquiry points and to guide the review

Daily meetings with Principal

Triangulation processes - meetings and interviews with different levels of school personnel (SMC, SIT, MM, LASW and basic rank Ts) and stakeholders (parents and students)

Principal's presentation

Evaluation of the delivered curriculum

school effectiveness is a key indicator of quality leadership

Exploring further …

• What questions would you ask to guide your onsite inquiry about school leadership?

• Which type of school leadership is more likely to be successful at this stage of education reform?

• How does a school leader strike a balance between his/her leadership and manager’s role in enhancing school development and performance?

To cope with a demanding reform agenda and avoid burn-out…

Sustainable Leadership @ http://www2.bc.edu/~hargrean/docs/seven_principles.pdf

What have we learnt?

• Concepts and evidence of leadership

• Evaluating leadership in the course of school review

In a nutshell, …

• Leadership and management are both important

• No single leadership style can reign supreme better adopt an eclectic approach to leading and managing educational change

• Quality of leadership represents itself in the day-to-day running of the school

• …