According to Bush and Middlewood (2013), Fullan (2009) and Green et al. (2006), the leadership and management style within an organisation will be dependent on the structures and procedures put in place to ensure that the vision of the organisation is implemented. The structures and procedures are the mechanisms to enable and ensure team members within the organisation can be and are productive towards realisation of the shared goals (Taylor et al., 2013). Leadership and management structures and procedures are however also influenced by individuals’ leadership and management skills, knowledge, and attitudes. This includes having comprehensive information about how team members relate to each other, their leaders and managers, structures and procedures, and the tasks at hand within an organisation (Bush & Middlewood, 2013).
The literature identifies four key issues of importance when considering the establishment of effective leadership and management structures and procedures. These include structural arrangements, decision-making, accountability and communication, and how they relate to each other to enable structures and procedures to function effectively in organisations as discussed below.
Structural arrangements are first determined and then developed through the leadership and
management approaches that are adopted by the leaders and managers together with the shared goals in a school. An organogram is an example of a structural arrangement as it indicates who and how the different people in the school relate to each other. It also shows who is responsible for the various aspects of the school’s operations as well as the accountability and communication lines of function. “The structural arrangements also provides, opportunities for collaboration and building cohesive teams to enable the school to function effectively and in a more holistic way” (Moolla, 2011, p. 96).
Decision-making is crucial to the harmonious functioning of a school and is directly related to
issues of power, control and responsibility. If the goal of the school is to develop democratic
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practices, it has to develop democratic decision-making processes. Maximum participation by all in the decision-making processes is ideal and should always strive to empower everyone, but this is not always possible or even desirable. Schools need to be clear as to who makes what decisions and who needs to be involved in the decision-making processes (Heron, 1999).
Davidoff et al. (2014) state that “after making decisions there has to be regular follow through and follow up. Decision-making should therefore, include the delegation of responsibilities and a plan of action to implement all decisions taken” (p. 70).
Good leaders and managers will use a full range of decision-making strategies available to them based on the situation and challenges they are dealing with, and engage the relevant team members. This enables the development of a culture of accountability (Davidoff et al., 2014). “Accountability provides for reporting which allows the school to monitor tasks more effectively and to make sure tasks are also completed within agreed timeframes” (Taylor et al., 2013, p. 113). It also allows for assistance and support to be provided if individuals are struggling to complete a task in the agreed timeframe. If schools want to develop democratic practices, they must also develop democratic accountability structures and procedures to enable efficiency. According to Davidoff et al. (2014), accountability is key to building sustainable structures and procedures at schools so that,
Once a plan is in place and people who have been given the responsibility to complete tasks, within a reasonable time-frame and the necessary resources for completion, accountability measures must be put in place to monitor and manage the completion of the task. (p. 70)
To develop and establish accountability at schools, regular open strategies of communication are vital to enable the responsible team members to effectively complete their tasks (Davidoff et al., 2014).
Communication needs to be varied, open and as transparent as possible to facilitate maximum
participation by all stakeholders of the school. All stakeholders need to be regularly kept up to date with regard to decisions and confidential matters are to be dealt with accordingly. Good
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communication is also dependent on technical and administrative support that takes time, resources and dedication to develop, maintain and sustain (Taylor et al., 2013).
Once preferences of leadership and management styles are identified, and structures and procedures are established at a school, they need to be maintained and sustained to enable the school to be led and managed effectively (Taylor et al., 2013). In order to maintain and sustain structures and procedures leadership and management must be continuously developed and supported to do so. The authors provide an illustration of indicators of effective school leadership and management in Table 4.1 below.
4.3.1. Effective School Leadership and Management
Taylor et al. (2013) identify five indicators of effective school leadership and management, including setting and communicating goals, ensuring an orderly and supportive professional working environment, relevant leadership and management styles, strategic resourcing and promoting professionalism.
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Table 4.1 Effective school leadership and management (Taylor et al., 2013, pp. 102-108)
School leadership and management Effective practice
Setting and communicating goals The school has clear, negotiated and agreed upon achievable goals with realistic timeframes.
Ensuring an orderly and supportive professional working environment
Productive working relationships are encouraged to develop cohesive teamwork involving all stakeholders.
Clear norms for professional behaviour and disciplinary procedures with good time management are available.
Relevant leadership and management styles
Enabling leadership and management styles are encouraged with roles and responsibilities clearly defined. Direct involvement is encouraged between leadership and management in all school activities. Appropriate and collaborative professional development practices are demonstrated by leadership and management teams.
Strategic resourcing Relevant resources are procured timeously and within budget allocations. Resource management systems are in place and fully operational.
Promoting professionalism CPD is encouraged. Professional knowledge, skills and attitudes are regularly demonstrated to deal with challenges. Induction and regular professional development and support are made available to all stakeholders. Monitoring, mentoring and coaching are regularly conducted.
Table 4.1 above indicates the varied aspects necessary for effective practices of school leadership and management and their interconnectedness. In order for schools to function effectively, both leadership and management need to know and understand what is expected from each other and work in close collaboration to reach the schools shared goals. As indicated at the beginning of this chapter, leadership and management are two separate but intricately connected concepts. According to Robinson et al. (2009), the impact of the different leadership and management styles can only be effective if the approach adopted accommodates the different needs of different schools. These needs will differ according to the school’s levels of development together with local socioeconomic and political conditions. The leadership and management
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styles used, and structures and procedures developed will therefore not necessarily be relevant to all schools. It is therefore useful and necessary to specifically review leadership and management structures and procedures to suit the different needs in South African schools.