Ready to lead? Shifting thinking about leadership of our schools

AIS Executive Conference

May 2007

Helen Wildy

Murdoch University

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Overview

1. Shifts in thinking about leadership

2. Delegation

3. Leading or managing?

4. Standards-based reform

5. WA Leadership Framework

6. Summary

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1. Shifts in thinking about leadership

Trait theory 1900-1950 Leadership style 1960s Situational theories 1970s Transformational leadership 1980s Distributed leadership 1990s Sustainable leadership 2000s

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Trait theory 1900-1950

Assumed leaders were born, not made Leaders were different from non leaders

Physical traits AbilitiesPersonality

Challenge: find the person for the job

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Leadership style 1960s

Background research: Hawthorne studies Ohio State University studies 2 dimensions of leadership

Consideration (people) Structure (task)

Example: Blake and Mouton 1964 (authority, team, country club, impoverished)

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Blake and Mouton 1964

Country Club

Team

Impoverished Authority

High

High

Low

Low

People

Task

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Hersey and Blanchard 1970s

Support Coach

Delegate Direct

High

High

Low

Low

People

Task

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2. DelegationI delegate

what?

to whom?

how?

when?

with what effect?

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Three big concepts behind effective delegation

Authority

Responsibility

Accountability

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Authority

Give authority by ensuring sufficient Resources esp time, motivation Skill Knowledge of context and importance Understanding of rationale Discretion

Involve delegatee in making these decisions Giving appropriate authority shows you value

the work and the person

Giving authority says I trust you

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Responsibility

Be clear about responsibilities: the buck stops with the delegator but the delegatee has responsibilities eg outcome, timeline, quality

Delegators are responsible for informing others Delegatees are responsible for seeking clarification

Sharing responsibility shows you value the work and the person

Sharing responsibility says We’re professionals

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Accountability

Decide on accountability processes in advance meeting targets being on time staying within budget achieving quality reporting achievement (when and how)

Accountability relationships show you value the work and the person

Accountability says You, and your work, matter

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Transformational leadership 1980s

In contrast with transactional leadership (power, position, politics and perks), Transformational leadership assumes people are motivated

by intrinsic factors: shared goals, sense of belonging, identity by being part of a vision, mission, values

Highly popular today as the path to organisational change

Deeply embedded in the rhetoric of organisations

Based on the concept of heroic, charismatic, singular, visionary leadership

But can one person do it all?

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Distributed leadership 1990s

Terms also used Networked leadership Collaborative leadership Shared leadership Team leadership

Assumes Flatter structures Decentralised control Increased ownership Expanded responsibility

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Sustainable leadership 2000s

Leading for sustainability based on three key concepts

Personal resilience Embedded organisational change Future orientation

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3. Leading or Managing

What is the relationship between leading and managing? Is one a subset of the other? Or are they different processes?Do they involve different skills?

Draw a diagram to represent the relationship

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Leading

Establishing direction

Aligning people Motivating and

inspiring Producing growth,

improvement, change

Managing

Planning, budgeting Organising and

staffing Controlling and

problem solving Producing order,

predictability, stability

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4. Standards-based reform

Argument Student performance improves when

outcomes of learning are made explicit Teachers’ performance improves when

practices of teaching are made explicit School performance improves when

practices of leaders are made explicit

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Standards for leaders: UK

NSH (National Standards for Headteachers) developed for National College for School Leadership

6 categories, each with 4 subcategories, each with between 3 and 13 subcategories plus invitation to add your own to reflect their contexts

Total 159 elements (at least)

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UK - NSH: 6 main categories

Shaping the future Leading learning and teaching Developing self and working with others Managing the organisation Securing accountability Strengthening community

(compare with WADET Leadership Framework)

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UK - NSH : subcategories

Knowledge Knows about

Professional qualities Is committed to Is able to

Actions

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NSH example Leading learning and teachingKnowledgeKnows about:

Strategies for raising achievement and achieving excellence The development of a personalised learning culture within the school Models of learning and teaching The use of new and emerging technologies to support learning and teaching Principles of effective teaching and assessment for learning Models of behaviour and attendance management Strategies for ensuring inclusion, diversity and access Curriculum design and management Tools for data collection and analysis Using research evidence to inform teaching and learning Monitoring and evaluating performance School self evaluation Strategies for developing effective teachers

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NSH example (Cont) Leading learning and teachingProfessional qualities

Is committed to The raising of standards for all in the pursuit of excellence The continuing learning of all members of the school community The entitlement of all pupils to effective teaching and learning Choice and flexibility in learning to meet the personalised learning needs of every

childIs able to

Demonstrate personal enthusiasm for and commitment to the learning process Demonstrate the principles and practices of effective teaching and learning Access, analyse and interpret information Initiate and support research and debate about effective learning and teaching

and develop relevant strategies for performance improvement Acknowledge excellence and challenge poor performance across the school

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NSH example (Cont) Leading learning and teachingActions

Ensures a consistent and continuous school-wide focus on pupils’ achievement, using data and benchmarks to monitor progress in every child’s learning

Ensures that learning is at the centre of strategic planning and resource management Establishes creative, responsive and effective approaches to learning and teaching Ensures a culture and ethos of challenge and support where all pupils can achieve success

and become engaged in their own learning Demonstrates and articulates high expectations and sets stretching targets for the whole

school community Implements strategies which secure high standards of behaviour and attendance Determines, organises and implements a diverse, flexible curriculum and implements an

effective assessment framework Takes a strategic role in the development of new and emerging technologies to enhance

and extend the learning experience of pupils Monitors, evaluates and reviews classroom practice and promotes improvement strategies Challenges underperformance at all levels and ensures effective corrective action and follow

up Add your own context specific actions

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Standards and accountability

To what extent are such ‘standards’ helpful to school leaders in rendering an account to their line managers and the public at large?

What counts as evidence of meeting these ‘standards’?

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Problems with ‘standards as lists’

fragmented leads to checklist false dichotomies decontextualised

A fulsome list of duties, but where are the standards?

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Short shrift to long lists which only show•Fragmentation, not interrelationships•Reduction, not complexity•Dichotomous, not variable•Duties, not essential qualities•Descriptions, not standards

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Alternative approach

Research 1996-1997, 2003-2005 funding by ARC and WA DET (Wildy, Louden, Andrich)

Judgements about the quality of performance depicted in 200 narrative accounts of school leaders at work

More than 2 000 ratings and 5 000 descriptions

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5. Leadership Framework (WA)

Developed over 9 years Grounded in leaders’ practice Based in rigorous research Funded by commonwealth and state

grants Developed collaboratively

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Rasch analysis

Narratives arrayed on continua Narratives clustered High, middle, low performance Three levels of performance i.e. standards

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Qualitative data

Attributes that distinguish quality of performance of leaders Fair Decisive Collaborative Flexible Innovative Supportive Tactful Persistence

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Not what but how

Factors that differentiate performance relate not to what leaders do but how they do what they do

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Attributes of leaders

Attributes are how leaders do what they do (competencies) in particular contexts

And we use attributes for reflectionprofessional development selection

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WA Leadership Framework

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/lc/standards.html

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6. Summary

Thinking about leadership has shifted dramatically over the past century.

This approach to standards Based on a few easily remembered attributes Provides richly illustrated levels Takes account of variation in context Acknowledges complexity Recognises dilemmas Identifies balance between competing pressures

To what extent are you ready to lead and to develop others to lead in your school?