Our Vision of Leadership in Centres

Leadership belongs to everyone (Sergiovanni 1992 p1)

“When we equate the powerful concept of leadership with the behaviours of one person, we are limiting the achievement of broad-based participation by a community or a society” (Lambert 1998 p5)

“Leadership needs to speak to a group broader than the individual leaders” (Lambert 1998 p5)

“Leadership is about learning together, and constructing meaning and knowledge collectively and collaboratively. It involves opportunities to surface and mediate perceptions, values, beliefs, information, and assumptions through continuing conversations; to inquire about and generate ideas together; to seek to reflect upon and make sense of work in the light of shared beliefs and new information; and to create actions that grow out of these new understandings. Such is the core of leadership” (Lambert 1998 p5).

“Unless all parts of an entity work together, the whole is dysfunctional. It’s like the body; if the circulatory system isn’t working, the patient – even if all other systems (such as the digestive or reproductive are OK) – will be ill” (Kagan 1994 p52)

The present day world in which we work is much more complex than even 20 years ago. Change is now endemic and, in a pluralistic society, it is no longer good enough to operate as if there were one ‘right’ way. For these reasons, writers suggest that confining leadership to one formally appointed person is unrealistic and ineffective – leadership needs to be the responsibility of everyone in the group. It is this view of shared leadership which we intend to promote through this project. This does not mean that there is no place for a formal ‘leader’ - there certainly is in co-ordinating and energising the group and in making sure of the smooth day-to-day running of the centre.

What is leadership?
Traditionally, it was seen as a set of skills or traits that individuals either had or could acquire through training. In recent years, the concept of leadership has come to mean something rather different. Some writers go as far as to say that 'leadership and leader’ are not the same. Leadership is about groups surfacing beliefs, values, information and assumptions; making sense of their work in the light of new information; generating ideas and acting on them. It is also about articulating what we do confidently and celebrating achievements. In summary, leadership is a shared endeavour, focussing on learning for constructive change.

We have called the programme Educational Leadership Project quite deliberately: Educational Leadership is leadership that is concerned with increasing our knowledge of curriculum, teaching and learning (pedagogy). It is our vision that, through this project, ‘leader centres’ will emerge - centres that are known for their expertise and innovation in a particular curriculum area or in processes associated with planning and assessment. A commitment to educational leadership involves:

• staying abreast of the latest research in practice;
• researching our own practice;
• experimenting with new approaches;
• sharing our insights with others.