How Leadership Team Interactions Affect Leader Identity and Team Identity

• In Event: Leadership and Evaluation for Improving Instruction

Abstract

School leadership teams have become a common approach to address changes, increase participation in decision-making, and demonstrate distributed leadership. Most research on school teams has focused on organizational factors (i.e., team structure and function); few have examined internal processes (i.e., relationships, identity development). This study explored interactions among members of a leadership team, specifically focusing on narrated identities. Five team members from a team were interviewed, and three meetings observed. The individual identity narratives focused on what they do on their grade-level or specialist teams rather than on the leadership team. Additionally, the leadership team identity was not as well developed as the individual leader identities. Team identity development was impacted by lack of authentic participation, team membership, and relationships.

Author

• Maryann Michel Judkins, The University of Arizona