Christopher M. Branson

Effects of Structured Self-reflection on the Development of Authentic Leadership Practices among Queensland Primary School Principals

This article reports on research that explored the concept of authentic leadership with seven principals of Catholic primary schools in Brisbane, Australia. Recent developments in leadership theory have promoted the concept of authentic leadership for addressing the leadership demands associated with our seemingly ever-changing and unpredictable, if not chaotic, world. In particular, authentic leaders are said to act in accordance with their personal values and convictions thereby building essential credibility, respect and trust. This suggests that the development of authentic leadership is contingent upon the leader having explicit knowledge of their values so that they can readily act in accordance with these values. Hence, this research sought to determine whether or not it is possible to develop authentic leadership practices by increasing the leaders explicit knowledge of their personal values. A deeply structured process of self-reflection was used as the means for increasing this explicit self-knowledge. In the light of this research, it is proposed that there is more to authentic leadership than knowing ones values. Arguably, truly authentic leadership might only be possible for those leaders who have the commitment and courage to come to know and understand the full extent of the influential power of their whole inner Self.

Achieving organisational change through values alignment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to, first, establish the interdependency between the successful achievement of organisational change and the attainment of values alignment within an organisations culture and then, second, to describe an effective means for attaining such values alignment.Design/methodology/approach – Literature from the fields of organisational change, organisational culture, philosophy, psychology, and values theory is reviewed in order to develop and test the hypothesis that successful organisational change can only occur when those affected by the change are able to willingly commit to an agreed set of values aligned with the accomplishment of the organisations new outcomes. The paper then presents and reports on a trial of a simple and effective framework for achieving such values alignment in an organisation.Findings – This paper supports the view that the currently acknowledged widespread resistance to organisational change is caused by a failure of current organisational c...

Improving leadership by nurturing moral consciousness through structured self‐reflection

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to report on research that explores the use of structured self‐reflection to nurture moral consciousness as a means of enhancing the moral leadership capacity of existing school principals.Design/methodology/approach – Given that this research focuses on each participants subjective reality, the epistemology of pragmatic constructivism was chosen to guide this qualitative study supported by the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism. Furthermore, a case study was chosen as the appropriate orchestrating perspective and an opportunistic sample of six school principals formed the participants in this case study.Findings – Data from this research support the view that the moral consciousness of each of the participating principals in this study was clearly enhanced by their experience of structured self‐reflection.Research limitations/implications – Due to the demanding nature of structured self‐reflection this approach takes a considerable amount of time...

Middle Leadership in Higher Education: A Relational Analysis.

The paper is informed by a research study exploring middle leadership as experienced by Chairpersons of Departments within one faculty in a university in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is argued that middle leadership in higher education needs to be understood as a highly complex relational endeavour, characterised by compromises that are negotiated amidst leadership structures, hierarchies and relations. The focus on leadership as first and foremost relational provides a frame for critically examining the nature and complexities inherent in the lived reality of middle leadership. Relational leadership is conceptualised as encompassing four inter-related dimensions. These are derived from data and respectively centre on structure and power; trust and credibility; learning; and discursive relations. We suggest that each dimension provides a productive lens through which the complexities and challenges of middle leadership can be explored. Throughout the emphasis is that for middle leaders, the relations that they have to navigate and negotiate are multi-faceted and multi-directional, involving relations up, down and across organisational structures and networks. Middle leaders are shown to be acutely aware that their decisions and the decisions of other staff variously impact upon the context and relations that they are working amidst.

Leadership for an Age of Wisdom

The dawning of a new age is upon us and it is recognisable by our world seeming to be uncontrollable, unpredictable, turbulent, and chaotic . These qualities may not be the hallmarks of the new age, but they are at least the indicators that we are in a transition towards a new age . During this transitional period, things that have previously served us so well no longer seem to work. Hence, a new understanding of leadership is desperately needed as we head towards this new age. Wisdom needs to guide the practices of today’s leaders . Our leaders can no longer depend largely on rationality in their decision-making processes. Rationality is the compass that has guided leadership and management practices for the past 150 years, b ut it has become insufficient. It is unable to embrace subjectivity. Hence, the call in this chapter is for wisdom to be the foundation upon which a new understanding of leadership unfolds. This chapter draws together all that has been previously discussed to argue that our turbulent world is crying out for strong, confident, purposeful, yet sensitive, considerate, and moral leadership . This seems too much to ask. Within our current leadership framework, so strongly influenced by rationalism, it is. But with the application of the new leadership framework presented in this book, one that is based on wisdom rather than predominately rationality , the seemingly impossible becomes possible. If we have the courage to reunite objectivity with subjectivity in one harmonious leadership framework, then, and only then, can we hope to transcend the turbulence of our world and, ultimately, create a better world for all.

Professional learning in the lives of teachers: towards a new framework for conceptualising teacher learning

This interpretative study of teachers as learners explored the continuing professional learning of teachers in a range of Australian schools. While teacher learning is regarded as a cornerstone of school reform, knowledge of how and why teachers engage in ongoing learning is scant. Research participants completed an open-ended questionnaire about their professional learning experiences and participated in semi-structured interviews in which they shared their learning narratives. The study found three sets of major influences on teachers’ engagement with professional learning and the quality of that learning. These influences were isolation (both geographic and professional), cost (both educational and emotional), and the professional and personal life stages of teachers. A new descriptive framework through which to understand the intricate interconnections between teacher-learners, professional learning and learning contexts across teaching careers is proposed.

Middle leaders' learning in a university context

This article focuses on the phenomenon of middle leadership in a university context and directs attention to the significance of learning as a central facet of leadership development. Drawing on the reflections of two of the authors as new middle leaders (chairpersons of departments), this article critically examines how middle leaders learn aspects of their role. Two tenets underpin our analysis: learning is fundamentally a social process – we learn with and from others; and learning is relational – what and how we learn is determined to some extent by others and affects others. Our experiences point to learning constraints and affordances arising from events, practices and artefacts. Constraints were largely associated with transmission learning experiences, while affordances were found in collaborative knowledge-sharing contexts that arose as information grounds in response to an information need. We argue that both those we lead, and the organisation itself, would likewise benefit from a knowledge-sharing perspective on learning.

Free to become: the essence of learning and leading

International research data unambiguously correlates effective educational leadership with improved student learning. Such leadership not only improves the professional performance of teachers but also models learning excellence. Undoubtedly, students learn so much from what they observe others doing. But how can educational leaders model what they have not experienced, themselves? How can todays educational leaders model learning excellence when there is an ever-increasing disparity between contemporary improvements in pedagogical approaches and the lived reality of leadership? To prepare world class educational leaders of learning, it is essential that the process for learning about leadership is closely aligned to what is now considered to be best practice in promoting student learning. If enactivism is the new bench mark in pedagogical practice, how could it be applied to the preparation and practice of leaders? This chapter applies the assumptions and intentions of enactivism to the context of leadership. Although this process enables educational leaders to resume their pivotal place as models of learning excellence, it has profound implications for leadership expectations and accountabilities.

Educational change leadership through a new zonal theory lens: Using mathematics curriculum change as the example

This paper outlines actions that educational change leaders can take to better meet their curriculum change obligations and responsibilities. In order to do this we extend Vygotsky’s (1978) zonal theory and its many extensions and elaborations by positioning educational change leadership within this theory. We rename the zones to Zone of Principal Responsibilities, Zone of Principal Support, Zone of Professional Learning, Zone of Teacher Resistance and Zone of Principal Illusion, and we introduce the Zone of Curriculum Change and represent these zones in diagrammatical form. We use our research on mathematics curriculum change in one school as an example of how our new zonal theory lens supports educational change leadership. Our findings illuminate possible actions and reactions of the principal and the teacher that ultimately suggest a way forward for turning around unsuccessful curriculum change. Our new zonal theory provides opportunities for change leaders to reduce teacher resistance with evidence that the action and reaction of the principal and the teacher are not independent of each other but are, in fact, co-constructed.

Personal values of principals and their manifestation in student behaviour A district-level study in Pakistan

Although there is growing research evidence to support the view that the leadership practice of the school principal is the second-most important influence on student learning behind classroom teaching, there is no clarity about what, exactly, the principal is meant to do to ensure this outcome. Hence, Leithwood et al. (2010) propose that one of the principal’s important influences on student learning is the ‘rational’ path, which includes the issue of school-wide disciplinary climate. This argues that the principal plays a pivotal role in establishing the school-wide disciplinary climate that aids student learning. This article reports upon research conducted in Pakistan that focuses on the disciplinary climate aspect of school leadership by exploring how the personal values of principals are made manifest in student behaviour. Data from this research infers that the establishment of an appropriate school-wide disciplinary climate for improving student learning is influenced by two important factors. First, there needs to be an alignment between personal and organizational values and behaviour throughout the school. Secondly, the consistency of alignment between the values and behaviour of the principal, in particular, is the cornerstone in creating a beneficial school-wide disciplinary climate.