Leadership in Uncertain Times

In times of great change, complexity, and uncertainty, school leaders are challenged to adapt and navigate their way through the tide of internal and external forces to create the best positive outcome for students and the school community. The authors argue that despite the many writers who advocate that leaders need to re-invent themselves in times of change, there are practices that are likely to remain constant whereas the capabilities that underpin these practices can change. We identify seven generic domains: understanding the context, setting direction, developing the organisation, developing people, improving teaching and learning, influencing, and leading self. Utilising business and education literature, and the authors’ own research from the International Successful School Principalship Project, we explore these seven fundamental domains and identify key capabilities that underpin each domain that are most likely to sustain school success in times of uncertainly. We argue that while these generic leadership domains endure over time, the capabilities that underpin these need to be reviewed and where appropriate re-shaped. While the paper cannot explore all the capabilities that may exist, we identify numerous key capabilities that are likely to lead to a positive outcome for the students and the school. The presentation will interact with a published paper that participants will be able to access utilising their device.
The presentation is supported by a published paper. As the presentation unfolds the published paper is used as a stimulus for participants to engage with the each other and to pose questions and statements for whole group consideration. The presentation will be a conversational presentation. We would like the paper to be made available through the conference website if possible, but if not, I can locate it elsewhere for access.