Functional Heterogeneity of the Senior Management Team: The Mediating Role of School Leadership

• In Event: Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Workforce Development and Management

Abstract

This study examined how school leaders’ internal and external activities mediate the relationship of school management teams (SMTs) functional heterogeneity to SMT effectiveness (in-role performance and innovation).
The results of the Structural Equation Model from a sample of 92 SMTs indicate that internal activities enhanced SMT performance whereas external activities enhanced SMT innovation. Also the school leader internal activities were found to fully mediate the relationship between functional heterogeneity and SMT in-role performance. By building and fostering relationships of trust both among members of highly functional heterogeneous SMT and between teams, principals can assist functionally heterogeneous SMTs in translating the benefits of functional heterogeneity into significant achievements. We discuss the implications of these findings for both theory and practice.

Authors

• Pascale Sarah Benoliel, Bar-Ilan University

• Anit Somech, University of Haifa