Effective Leadership in

Education

Sunday 4th March 2007

m e
e l c o
W
!
We’re thinking about …
• Why effective leadership in education
matters?
• What do we mean by effective leadership?
• Your own experience?
• Aspects of leadership
– Relational Leadership
– Results focused leadership
– Transformational leadership
• Impact of culture and gender

• Questions and answers

Why does it matter?

• “Developing the Leaders of the Future:

– A Leadership Strategy for the Learning and
Skills Sector (2004)”

– NCSL, “(NCSL) …exists to help to make a difference

to the lives and the life chances of children and
young people through the development of world-class
school leaders.”
– Masters in Effective Leadership in Education
Why does it matter?
• Quality of leadership in education affects the
learning of children and young people

• Leadership at every level – subject, year, school,

college, ministry

• Leadership is about achieving results

through people – of particular importance is
human relations aspect of educational
leadership.
What do we mean by “leadership”?

• Leadership and management?

• What about you? Who’s brought out the

best in you?
– What was it like?
– What did they do?
 Aspects of leadership 1
Relational Leadership

“... leadership is
a relationship between
those who aspire to lead
and those who choose to
follow”

(James Kouzes & Barry Posner)

 Most comprehensive UK leadership
research

• Showing genuine concern

• Enabling

• Being accessible

• Encouraging questioning & curiosity

• Integrity

• Networking

• Building Shared Vision

• Self-development

• Cultures of learning & developing others’ leadership

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. The Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ). Leeds: LRDL
 Emotionally Intelligent leadership

4. Relationship
1. Self-awareness management

2. Self-management 3. `Others’
awareness

Adapted from Daniel Goleman

by Alex Swarbrick
Effective and ineffective leadership

• UK study – this accounts for 60-70% of difference

between effective and ineffective leadership (Alimo-Metcalfe
B)

• Emotional Intelligence competencies account for up to

80% difference between effective and ineffective
leadership. (Goleman D)

• In Education, human and relational aspects

of leadership essential to success.
So, how about you?

Relational leader ?

• For you to be an effective, people focussed

leader:
– What skills do you need to develop?
– What knowledge do you need to gain?

• What will your first step be?

 Aspects of leadership 2
Results focused
Task related – how managers can help people get things done
1. Do I know what is expected of me?
2. Do I have the things I need to do a good job?
3. Do I have the opportunity to do my best everyday?
4. Is my work important? Is work of my organisation important?
5. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

People related
6. In the last 7 days have I received recognition for good work?
7. Does somebody care about me as a person?
8. Is there someone who cares about my development?
9. Do my opinions count?
10. Do I have a best friend in the organisation?
11. Have I had feedback about my progress in the last 6 months?
12. In the last year have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
Gallup Survey
 Leadership continuum
Non-Directive or “Pull”

• Listening to understand
• Reflecting
• Paraphrasing
• Summarising
• Questioning to raise awareness
• Making suggestions
• Offering feedback
• Offering guidance
• Giving advice
• Instructing
• Telling
Directive or “Push”
Situational Leadership ®

Style of leadership determined by …

• Nature of task

…and, the individual’s…

• Competence &
• Confidence
Hersey and Blanchard
Situational Leadership ®

High
Share Explain

NG
ideas and decisions
Relationship focussed behaviour

TI
facilitate and provide

PA

SE
decision CI clarity
making

LL
I
RT

IN
PA

G
NG

TE
Provide
I

LL
Hand specific
AT

instruction

IN
responsibility
EG

G
over for and closely
L
DE

decisions and supervise

implementation performance

Low High

Task focused behaviour

So, how about you?

• You are a secondary school head teacher

with more than one deputy and heads of
subjects reporting to you.

• Think of two situations in which you would

choose to adopt two different styles of
leadership, and why?
 Aspects of leadership 3
Transactional and Transformational

Transactional leadership
• Exchange, pay for labour, good work for my favour.
• Rules there so everyone knows where they stand.
• E.g. Henry Ford

Transformational leadership
• Seeks to engage higher order needs of followers in pursuit of
transformational goal.
• Appeal to followers sense of purpose & worth, implication that
followers will be transformed too in pursuing the goal
• E.g. Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela, Ghandi.
Adapted from Bernard Bass 1990,
Leadership and gender
Men tend to prefer…

• to be more Transactional

• to use formal Power

• to ‘Guard’ information

Rosener,J. (1990) ‘Ways women lead’. Harvard Business Review, Nov/Dec, 119-125
Source: Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. LRDL, Leeds.
 Leadership and gender
Women tend to prefer…
• To be Transformational
• To use an ‘Interactive’ style
• To Sharing power and information
• To use Personal power
• To try to enhance people’s self-worth
• Try to make people feel they are part of the
organisation

Rosener,J. (1990) ‘Ways women lead’. Harvard Business Review, Nov/Dec, 119-125
Source: Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. LRDL, Leeds.
So, how about you?

• Transformational, transactional or both?

• Does gender make a difference?

• Does culture make a difference?

 Layers of culture

re
ltu
“Fixtures

cu
ci t and
pl i
fittings”
Ex

Actions and behaviour

re
ltu

Norms - “right” or “wrong” thing to do

cu
cit
pl i

Values - what makes something “good” or “bad”.

Im

Basic beliefs and assumptions - survival, faith.

Adapted by Alex Swarbrick from Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner Riding the Waves of culture; Understanding cultural diversity in business.
 Culture at work
• Relationships
– Rules versus relationships
– The individual and the group

• Leadership, Authority and Status

– “Power distance”
– Achieved and ascribed status

• Communication
– High and low context – It’s all in the words!

From Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, Hofstede, and Hall & Hall.

Conclusions

Leadership is …
• Achieving results through people

• People
– Effective working relationships are the foundation
– Self awareness - assumptions
– “Others” awareness – genuine interest

• Results
– “…making a difference to the lives and opportunities
of children and young people…”
…and the best of success being
the most effective educational
leaders you can be.

Thank you