Are Headteachers Adult Enough To Do The Job?

Research shows that heads often lack the emotional maturity to carry out their roles. Most heads need training in Adult Ego Development, concludes Neil Gilbride

Facing up to the demands of leadership

Do we take for granted the size of the challenge facing school leaders? Is there a sufficient appreciation for the range of leadership functions that they face each day? Are the professional development needs of leaders as adult learners really understood and addressed?

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      string(434) "... leadership for example, but in the meantime, the “dark” side has been largely ignored’. Understandably, leadership training is currently focused on positive practices, and dysfunctional leadership and its consequences are often not considered. They should be.Leadership trainers must recognise that all headteachers are working within a potentially toxic environment ..."
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      string(5908) "and damage of other parts of pupils’ learning more generally. As Walton (2007) says: ‘Toxic leaders will “make it happen” and “get things done”, but how they go about this can be profoundly damaging to those around them and, potentially, to the business itself’. In a research project conducted with 411 leaders of UK academies Hill et al (2016) looked at the ‘types’ of school leaders that are most effective. They classified school leaders into five types that they called surgeons, soldiers, accountants, philosophers and architects. You will be able to identify the ‘types’ from these titles! Architects, who believe that it takes time to improve a school and, therefore, take a long-term view of what they need to do were considered to have the most positive long-term impact – up to 23% higher than the other types of leader.Toxic leadership is therefore corrosive to organizational health and this has knock-on effects upon performance and should be discouraged wherever it is encountered. This means challenging many of the views of what might be the best ways for encouraging enhanced performance of a school. Padilla et al., (2007) say that it is: ‘the interaction between abusive leaders, vulnerable followers and their environment that leads to dysfunctional organisational culture and corporate underperformance’. Although toxic leadership and management may improve test scores, and drive short-term measurable gains for pupils, evidence is that these are not generally sustained, and will almost certainly be extremely damaging in the longer term. It may be the case that in many schools, teachers are being deterred from remaining in the profession, and only those who are prepared to act in a certain way, complying with a preferred style, are putting themselves forward for headship. The implications for leadership developmentThe current pressures being placed on school leaders, teachers and other staff are not likely to go away in the foreseeable future, so what can be done to challenge toxic cultures? Firstly, we need to recognise that toxic leadership does exist and it is then essential that it is recognised in the training of our current and future school leaders. Bubb and Earley (2005) have said that ‘much has been written about the “bright” side of leadership, about best practice and effective leadership for example, but in the meantime, the “dark” side has been largely ignored’. Understandably, leadership training is currently focused on positive practices, and dysfunctional leadership and its consequences are often not considered. They should be.Leadership trainers must recognise that all headteachers are working within a potentially toxic environment. Trainers need to highlight the dangers of accepting, supporting and replicating such leadership within their schools. Mehta and Maheshwari (2014) conclude their own discussion of toxic leadership by saying that ‘if leadership toxicity is an inevitable disease of organisational life, the sooner it is recognised in the development of leaders, the better it is’.Tackling toxicityFor high performing schools, ‘leadership’ is now considered by many to be more, or at least equally, important to the quality of the teacher in the classroom.  Government promoted preparation and continuing professional development programmes on leadership are plentiful. This article suggests that the issue of ‘toxic leadership’ should be highlighted in such programmes, counselled against, and attention drawn to its consequences. It should be a topic to discuss in all school leadership programmes. In terms of well-being, all teachers (and indeed other staff in schools) should be alert to the issue of toxic leadership, and how to deal with it. Staff should be encouraged within their informal networks to explore different strategies that can be used to address it, and what recourse they have if informal strategies do not work. It should not remain a silent issue in schools – like all bullying, it is supported and grows with silence. It is not the sort of issue that is best addressed through ‘formal’ CPD activities, but course leaders should be alert to the issue and raise it where appropriate A fuller discussion of this topic can be found in Craig, I (2017) Toxic Leadership, in Earley, P and Greany, T (2017) School Leadership and Education System Reform, London: Bloomsbury, which provided the basis for this article.ReferencesBall, S. (2008) The Education Debate, Bristol: Policy Press. ■ Bell, L. and Stevenson, H. (2006) Education Policy, London: Routledge. ■ Bottery, M. (2000) Education, Policy and Ethics. London: Continuum. ■ Bubb, S and Earley, P (2005) Unprincipled principals? Towards a research agenda for the understanding of rogue principals and their practices. Paper presented to the Belmas symposium at the Educational Management Association of South Africa, 11-13 March 2005. ■ Hill, A, Mellon, L, Laker, B and Goddard, J (2016) The One Type of School Leader Who Can Turn Around a Failing School. Harvard Business Review, 20 October 2016. ■ Krasikova, D., Green, S. and LeBreton, J. (2013) Destructive leadership: A theoretical review, integration, and future research agenda, in Journal of Management, 39, 1308-1338 ■ Lipman-Blumen, J. (2005) The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why we follow destructive bosses and corrupt politicians – and how we can survive them’, New York: Oxford UP. ■ Mehta, S. and Maheshwari, G. (2014) Toxic leadership: tracing the destructive trail, International"
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Leadership Assessment

When Leadership Turns Toxic

19 Nov 2018

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      string(5942) "done”, but how they go about this can be profoundly damaging to those around them and, potentially, to the business itself’.15 In a research project conducted with 411 leaders of UK academies, Hill et al. looked at the ‘types’ of school leaders that are most effective.16 They classified school leaders into five types that they called surgeons, soldiers, accountants, philosophers and architects. You will be able to identify the ‘types’ from these titles! Architects, who believe that it takes time to improve a school and, therefore, take a long-term view of what they need to do were considered to have the most positive long-term impact – up to 23% higher than the other types of leader.Toxic leadership is therefore corrosive to organisational health and this has knock-on effects upon performance and should be discouraged wherever it is encountered. This means challenging many of the views of what might be the best ways for encouraging enhanced performance of a school. Padilla et al. say that it is: ‘the interaction between abusive leaders, vulnerable followers and their environment that leads to dysfunctional organisational culture and corporate underperformance’.17 Although toxic leadership and management may improve test scores and drive short-term measurable gains for pupils, evidence is that these are not generally sustained, and will almost certainly be extremely damaging in the longer term. It may be the case that in many schools, teachers are being deterred from remaining in the profession, and only those who are prepared to act in a certain way, complying with a preferred style, are putting themselves forward for headship. The implications for leadership developmentThe current pressures being placed on school leaders, teachers and other staff are not likely to go away in the foreseeable future, so what can be done to challenge toxic cultures? 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Mehta and Maheshwari conclude their own discussion of toxic leadership by saying that ‘if leadership toxicity is an inevitable disease of organisational life, the sooner it is recognised in the development of leaders, the better it is’.19Tackling toxicityFor high-performing schools, ‘leadership’ is now considered by many to be more, or at least equally, important to the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Government-promoted preparation and continuing professional development programmes on leadership are plentiful. This article suggests that the issue of ‘toxic leadership’ should be highlighted in such programmes, counselled against, and attention drawn to its consequences. It should be a topic to discuss in all school leadership programmes. In terms of well-being, all teachers (and indeed other staff in schools) should be alert to the issue of toxic leadership and how to deal with it. Staff should be encouraged within their informal networks to explore different strategies that can be used to address it, and what recourse they have if informal strategies do not work. It should not remain a silent issue in schools – like all bullying, it is supported and grows with silence. It is not the sort of issue that is best addressed through ‘formal’ CPD activities, but course leaders should be aware of the issue and raise it where appropriate. A fuller discussion of this topic can be found in Ian Craig’s chapter “Toxic Leadership” from P. Earley and T. Greany’s School Leadership and Education System Reform, London: Bloomsbury, 2017, which provided the basis for this article.Dr Ian Craig is visiting professor at University College of London Institute of Education. References1. 	Savage, M. “Almost a quarter of teachers who have qualified since 2011 have left profession.” The Guardian, 8 July 2016.2. 	Whitty, G. Making Sense of Education Policy, London: Paul Chapman, 2002, 80.3. 	Walton, M. “Leadership Toxicity – An Inevitable Affliction of Organisations.” Organisations and People 14, no. 2 (2007): 19-27. 4. 	Krasikova, D., S. Green, and J. LeBreton. “Destructive Leadership: A Theoretical Review, Integration, and Future Research Agenda.” Journal of Management 39 (2013): 1308-1338.5. 	Wilson-Starks, K. Toxic Leadership. Colorado Springs: Transleadership Inc., 2003, 2.6. 	Ibid. 4.7. 	Sahlberg, P. Finnish Lessons, New York: Columbia Teachers College Press, 2011, 75.8. 	Bottery, M. Education, Policy and Ethics. London: Continuum, 2000, p. 21.9. 	Wright, N. “Leadership, ‘Bastard Leadership’ and Managerialism.” Educational Management and Administration, 29, vol. 3 (2001): 275-290.10. Ball, S. The Education Debate. Bristol: Policy Press, 2008, 45.11. Williams, D. Toxic Leadership in the US Army, unpublished Master of Strategic Studies dissertation, US Army War College, 2005, 15.12. Turner, C."
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Executive Leadership

Overcoming the Allure of Toxic Leadership

13 Nov 2018

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leadership for learning.1He explains why leadership for learning matters even more in high stakes accountability systems. He sets out some fundamental questions  for professional development and lays down the challenge that learning should be  at the heart of leadership development programmes, especially the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)."
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leadership for learning.1He explains why leadership for learning matters even more in high stakes accountability systems. He sets out some fundamental questions  for professional development and lays down the challenge that learning should be  at the heart of leadership development programmes, especially the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)."
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      string(5856) "(Astle, 2017) and the DfE-funded study of outstanding primary schools (Matthews, et al, 2014).Implications and challenges for professional developmentA concern or challenge for learning-centred leaders and those involved in their training and development will be maintaining the focus on learning – to concentrate their efforts on professional and pedagogic matters rather than administrative and financial concerns. The growing number of competing pressures and demands on school leaders’ time will make this an increasingly difficult task and will call for even more distributed leadership where all leaders’ focus is learning (Earley, 2013). It will be important to ensure that staff in charge of teaching and learning keep it as a high priority and know how to lead and effectively promulgate their vision of teaching and learning. Leadership development programmes, including the new suite of NPQs, must give such factors high priority.Will the growth of a self-improving school system help or hinder the development of such leadership?  What does a self-improving system mean for LCL? How will leading learning play out in a federation or chain? Will chief executives become further removed from the ‘core business’ of schools which will increasingly be seen as the responsibility of senior and middle leaders? Will such leaders have even less ‘autonomy’ than under previous arrangements? Will executive heads and chief executives of academies and chains be more likely to have a business rather than an education background? Will leadership development programmes, including the new NPQ for executive Leaders, give such factors the importance they deserve?How will leaders ensure that focusing on learning (leadership for learning or learning-centred leadership) includes whole school discussion, including with governing bodies, about ‘learning for what’?Will this help avoid schools becoming ‘examination factories’ (Hutchings, 2015) and discourage teaching to the test and other unsavoury practices associated with toxic organizational cultures (Craig, 2017)? For example. “Cheating teachers up four-fold in four years” – School Leadership Today, December 2017. There are clear implications of the above for both school leader and school governor training.Heads, other school leaders and governing bodies, play key roles in creating and maintaining the conditions and environment where teachers can teach (and learn) effectively and students can learn.  Effective learning-centred leaders empower staff and students to reach their potential. Student outcomes can be improved and not only in relation to attainment. Finally, we need to ensure that leadership training and development opportunities reflect such research findings and current concerns about ‘the purpose of education’ and school leadership.ReferencesAstle, J. (2017) The Ideal School Exhibition, London: RSA. ■ Biesta, G. (2016) Good education and the teacher: reclaiming education professionalism, Chapter 6 in Evers, J. and Kneyber, R. (eds) (2016) Flip the System: changing education form the ground up, London: Routledge. ■ Bangs, J. and Frost, D. (2016) Non-positional teacher leadership: distributed leadership and self-efficacy, Chapter 7 in Evers, J. and Kneyber, R. (eds) (2016) Flip the System: changing education form the ground up, London: Routledge. ■ Bubb, S. and Earley, P. (2010) Helping staff develop in schools. London: Sage. ■ Craig, I. (2017) Toxic leadership. In: P. Earley, & T. Greany, (Eds.) School Leadership and Education System Reform (pp. 182-190). London: Bloomsbury. ■ Day, C., Sammons, P., Hopkins, D., Harris, A., Leithwood, K., Gu, Q., Brown, E., Ahtaridou, E. and Kington, A.  (2009)  The impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes: Final report.  Nottingham: Department for Education. ■ Day, C. and Sammons, P (2013) Successful School Leaders, Reading: CfBT. See website. ■ Dimmock, C. (2012) Leadership, Capacity Building and School Improvement: concepts, themes and impact, London: Routledge. ■ Earley, P. (2013) Exploring the School Leadership Landscape: Changing demands, changing Evers, J. and Kneyber, R. (eds) (2016) Flip the System: changing education form the ground up, London: Routledge. ■ Hallinger, P. (2012) Leadership for 21st Century schools: from instructional leadership to leadership for learning, Presentation to Italian Ministry of Education, December. ■ Hargreaves, A. (2016) Autonomy and transparency: two good ideas gone bad, Chapter 9 in Evers, J. and Kneyber, R. (eds) (2016) Flip the System: changing education form the ground up, London: Routledge. ■ Hutchings, M. (2015) Exam factories? The impact of accountability measures on children and young people, London: NUT. ■ Matthews, P., Rea, S., Hill, R. and Gu, Q. (2014) Freedom to lead: a study of outstanding primary school leadership in England, London: DfE. ■ NCSL (2013) Confident school leadership: a Canadian perspective, Nottingham: National College for School Leadership. ■ OECD (2016) What makes a school a learning organisation? A guide for policy makers, school leaders and teachers, Paris: OECD. ■ Osborne-Lampkin, L., Folsom, J. S. and Herrington, C. D. (2015) A systematic review of the relationships between principal characteristics and student achievement (REL 2016–091). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. ■ Robinson, V. (2011) Student-centred Leadership, San Francisco: Jossey Bass. ■ Robinson, V. (2013) Leadership where it counts: making a bigger difference to your students,"
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Executive Leadership

Leading the learning – yes but for what purpose?

18 Apr 2018

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      string(5627) "non-financial incentives.  This combination of financial and non-financial incentives drive behaviour in powerful ways.Let’s take financial drivers first.  Governors may say that remuneration is dealt with by them on recommendation by the Head Teacher.In my previous article I mentioned a classic paper ‘On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B’ so let us now dissect A and B with a couple of examples.  If the Stated Purpose of the school is to be ‘above average’ on whatever league table gains approval do expect some rather strange outcomes;Education policy has more recently focused on punishing schools that get ‘below average’ results. On the surface this seems sensible, however, the reality is that schools then face a disincentive to teach harder subjects in which students are less likely to get a good mark. It also incentivises the chasing of a goal that can never be realised, for the very act of trying changes the target. As results improve, so too does the average. Not everyone can be ‘above average’5Similarly, in business there is ample evidence that competences successful sales managers need (being the sales peoples boss) are leadership, coaching, training and quality assurance.  If a sales manager is competent in these areas then sales people will produce good quality fair sales.  However, these are inputs which are difficult to measure and thus often not measured and certainly not rewarded.What are sales managers rewarded for then?  Well outputs, typically sales; via profit, volume and amount.  These output numbers are easily measured.  This example of Rewarding A (sales volume) whilst hoping for B (good quality sales) occurred in December 2013 when a bank was fined by the regulator for exactly this failing.In addition, although advisers were supervised by local sales managers, the Firms failed to identify that there was a potential conflict of interest due to the fact that sales managers’ bonuses were based on the performance of advisers in their teams.Now translate this into the challenge Governors face in measuring the performance of the Head Teacher.  Maybe we want our Head to have strategic vision, leadership skills and an intuitive feel for excellent teaching.  However, Governors driving for an ‘above average’ league table result may set the Head targets on that basis, which the Head translates into department promotions for the people thought to be able to deliver ‘above average’.  And thus, we reward A while hoping for B.In banking we know that market based incentives bring about a short term focus by executives, to enhance or at least maintain the share price. Effectively incentivised to address the near term, the CEO will consider any activity that can enhance the market price and encourage this whilst avoiding any activity that could lower or cause the market price to stagnate.I suspect that targeting above average is likely to lead Heads and department heads down the same sort of blind alley.  Don’t teach those harder subjects!Turning now to less obvious non-financial incentives, these can be summarised by answering the question “who is?”Who is?  Fired, hired, not hired, excommunicated, promoted, denigrated and celebrated?  Rewarding A while hoping for B kicks in yet again.  It is simply no good the Head telling the school how important it is to help pupils reach their individual potential if all the praise goes to the key enablers of those league table improvements.Let me also add a communications enigma.  Communications is one of the four drivers of culture and it is no exaggeration to say culture depends on communication.  Governors rightly delegate communication to the school’s senior leaders and particularly to the Head.  One is tempted to ask what could possibly go wrong, except of course the answer is obvious, life and communication is not that simple.  Think friction.  The further the message has to travel the more friction applies and the less likely the message is to get there, either unchanged or even at all.  All sorts of barriers exist including;Different sitesPart time workingDiffering national culturesNew starters versus old handsQualified teachersTeaching assistantsNon-teaching staffHeads not organising communication properly, clearly or even at allConsider a week where on Monday the Head’s message is that pupil development based on excellent teaching is central to the school’s purpose.  On Tuesday the budget for necessary teaching assistants is cut and and on Wednesday the most respected teacher announces she is leaving the school (for whatever stated reason).In these circumstances the communication enigma kicks in because frictionlessly, as if by magic, everyone at the school will know of these three events.  Whilst no-one may have read that classic paper the fact is everyone heard the Head hope for B but somehow action A.The issue underlying both financial and non-financial incentives is trust.  For a Head to be trusted she, or he, needs to be seen as trustworthy by the workforce.The respected philosopher Baroness O’Neil defines trustworthiness as being considered honest, reliable and competent.  However competent and reliable the Head may be if honesty is in doubt because B is said and A rewarded then trust bites the dust.This lack of trust is what drives employees to provide answers to employee surveys that include; I can’t always trust what our senior leaders say, sometimes I have to"
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Leadership

What Divides Toxic And Creative School Cultures

16 Jan 2018

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      string(5650) "Culture clubCulture eats strategy for breakfast!  Commonly attributed to the management guru, Peter Drucker, this provocative statement is often used to argue that there is an inherent conflict between strategy and culture.  A more positive and constructive interpretation is that for our strategic efforts to be effective they need to resonate with, and be rooted within, a supportive culture. All of our best laid plans, and often frenetic activity, will come to nought without a fundamental appreciation of the culture in which they are implemented. If nothing else this signals the importance of investing time and energy in fostering cultural development, not least when considering effective approaches to the professional learning of school staff and their leaders.  This, then, is the common concern of the contributions to this issue of Professional Development Today. Toxic culturesIan Craig begins with a stark warning about the current culture holding sway over education which is resulting in school leadership becoming toxic, with this in turn having its own cultural impact. The ingredients contributing to this toxic mix include the belief that competition produces improvements in the quality of services; emphasis on business, economic effectiveness and value for money; and the accountability regime which puts “great pressure on school leaders to act in ways they believe will ensure that their schools conform.”  He argues that the consequences of this slow and insidious trend are dire with long-term organisational health being sacrificed for short term gains, and a failure to recognise or develop individual worth, experience and the professionalism of staff.  Craig pulls no punches. He claims that unrealistic expectations mean many headteachers, particularly those in more difficult schools, are now working in a climate of fear and inculcating this in their staff.  He concludes that “in the current free enterprise, quasi-market and targets culture in education, toxic management of schools is widespread and inevitable.”Caring for leadersA similar tone is struck in the article by Peter Earley and Sara Bubb. They are likewise concerned about the “high stakes accountability culture” and ask “what is needed for school leaders to survive, thrive and also revive.” Drawing upon research evidence they maintain that the answer lies in personal development.  They explain that in order to combat the emotional demands, big workloads and high levels of occupational stress, school leaders, especially headteachers, “need intellectual breadth, self-awareness and self-confidence, good interpersonal skills and high degrees of resilience.”  What they call for is a fundamental shift in training perspective. This focuses on “leader” rather than “leadership” development and sees this as being, above all, about “the development of the individual and only secondarily the development of the role.” The call is for personal development for professional reasons.  They then outline what this means in terms of customised programmes – including sabbaticals, secondments and study leave – which give greater prominence to elements of personal development.Pivotal partnershipsIn the next piece I begin by considering another aspect of the prevailing culture in education – the movement towards increased school autonomy, self-improvement and collaboration. I consider potential tensions between, on the one hand, the autonomous drive for professional development to be school-led, drawing on the expertise within schools, and on the other, the important potential contribution of higher education.  The article reports on key issues and messages from a major literature review on school-university partnerships which typically collaborate on initial teacher training; continuing professional development; and consultancy and research.  One of the big challenges identified is the cultural dissonance between the partners, with the academic and school teacher portrayed as having significantly different outlooks.  The article provides tabulated guidance on strategies to promote effective school-university partnerships.  This includes the crucial role of new types of leaders at the boundaries of the partnership. Above all it emphasises the value of creating a third partnership space – not part of either organisation – which nurtures trusting relationships, mutual respect and joint collaborative working.  Performance management for learningThe need for a mutually supportive culture is also a strong feature of the HOW TO section.  John Blanchard gives practical guidance on how the school’s performance management philosophy, approach and arrangements can be geared to serve the professional development of staff. Indeed he sees performance management and ongoing professional learning as being in a symbiotic, mutually stimulating and reinforcing relationship. The HOW TO pieces give an array of strategies related to lesson observation and the leading of teaching and learning.  In the final piece he addresses how performance management can specifically focus on professional development through a culture of collaboration between teachers, senior leaders and governors. Mega-leaders – Trusts and trust!A prominent feature of the modern educational landscape has been that the majority of schools now operate within some kind of collaborative arrangement. With this has been an accompanying growth in new forms of"
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Editorial/Opinion

Positive cultures for teaching, learning and leadership

19 Nov 2018

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Facing up to the demands of leadership

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