Connecting to Practice: How School Leaders Manage and Learn Through and From Challenges

• In Event: Preparing School Leaders With Theory and Practice

Abstract

This paper reports on the latest phase of our ongoing study of leadership practice. We interviewed 12 schools leaders, split between domestic and foreign schools, about how they manage, learn from and were prepared for the challenges they face. We found that the challenges they view as their greatest are almost invariably composed of elements of what Heifetz calls adaptive and technical challenges, and require these leaders to learn to manage them. Preparing people for change, delegation and working with data (standardized assessment reports or authentic student work) are common challenges, as are time management and maintaining work-life balance. For principals to succeed, leadership preparation, support and professional development must focus on coping with adaptive and mixed challenges.

Authors

• Eleanor E. Drago-Severson, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Patricia Maslin-Ostrowski, Florida Atlantic University

• Alexander Mishra Hoffman, AleDev Research