As the number of women holding positions of leadership in higher education slowly increases, more studies examining women‟s approaches to leadership have been done in Australia (Blackmore, 2002a, Wallace; 2006; Ozkani et al, 2008), New Zealand (Copper et al, 2006, Strachan, 2009), UK (Bagilhole & White, 2008; Coleman, 2002, 2005a, 2007; Hearn, 2001; Becher et al, 2001) and United States (Grogan & Brunner, 2005; Grogan et al, 2009). Although there are many leadership approaches, the one most often associated with women is collaborative leadership. It is appropriate that collaborative and servant leadership are explored at this time, as research conducted in Melanesia has found that these leadership styles are prominent for women educational leaders (Akao, 2008; Pollard, 2006; Strachan et al, 2007; Strachan, 2009; Strachan et al, 2010; Warsal, 2009).
Collaborative leadership
Research suggests that within educational organisations women are perceived as caring, consensual in decision-making processes and collaborative, and this has led to the notion that women‟s approach to leadership tends to be collaborative (Blackmore, 1998; 2002; Coleman, 2002, 2005; Collard, 2005; Court, 1994; Hall, 1993, 1996; Lyman, Reppa & Lazaridou, 2009; Shakeshaft, 1989). Collard‟s (2005) research exploring the interaction of female and male principals with the school community (teachers, students, parents) in primary and secondary schools in Australia identified that the women were committed to collegiality and teamwork and fostered a consultative climate that allowed staff to participate. A recent comparative study by Lyman, Reppa and Lazaridou (2009) in Greece and the USA explored women principals‟ values and perceptions of leadership, and found that collaborative leadership style was fundamental to democratic
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leadership. Such democracy fostered “team decisions, democratic processes, reciprocity, cooperation and recognizing the talents and abilities of others” (p. 123). The collaborative leadership approach is warmly espoused by Melanesian women educational leaders in the Solomon Islands (Akao, 2008) and Vanuatu (Warsal, 2009), and the commonalities of the Melanesian cultural values system suggested that it was important for the current study to discover whether Papua New Guinean women also utilize to this leadership approach. Lyman, Reppa and Lazaridou (2009) further identified that the democratic processes used by collaborative leadership allow women to demonstrate their values of caring and respect for others. This illustrated that women tended to display this leadership approach because of the feminine attributes of caring, nurturing and sharing.
In a comparative study of male and female leaders at higher education institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Portugal, Ireland, and South Africa, the researchers commented that collaboration was a skill required in their leadership roles, but that only the women practised it as a leadership style (Ozkanl, Machado, White, O'Connor, Riordan, & Neale, 2009). This finding implies that leaders who view collaboration as simply a skill can overlook the significance and the necessity of collaboration as a leadership style which benefits the organisation and people within it. Similarly, Akao (2008) stressed that collaborative decision- making processes had positive outcomes for teachers, students, parents and the wider community in the Solomon Islands. The Melanesian communal cultural values system cultivates the importance of relationship building, reciprocity, respect, and collectiveness and this may have influenced their choice of the leadership approach. For the purpose of this research, it was important to investigate the assumption that Melanesian values systems foster a collaborative leadership approach. At the same time, research in Melanesia shows that women educational leaders practise servant leadership, which I now discuss.
Servant leadership
The servant leadership model was introduced by missionaries in the Pacific in 1800s and is intimately linked to the strong religious beliefs and principles, both women and men hold in Melanesia (Ako, 2008; Sanga et al, 2005; Strachan et al,
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2007, Strachan, 2009; Warsal, 2009). Servant leadership is referred to as the ability to serve others (Alston, 2005). Research in Melanesia confirms that the primary motivation of a servant leader is the desire to serve rather than to lead in educational organisations (Akao, 2008; Sanga et al, 2005; Strachan et al, 2007; Warsal, 2009). Servant leadership emphasises the importance of appreciating and valuing people, listening, mentoring or teaching, and empowering followers (Parolini, Patterson & Winston, 2009; Stone, Russell & Patterson, 2004). Warsal (2009) found Christian principles of forgiveness, honesty, respect and the practice of daily praying enabled women educational leaders in Vanuatu to practice servant leadership in a manner which enabled them to uphold those principles despite facing challenges in their leadership roles. Research conducted in the United States with black female school superintendents revealed that women educational leaders used the spiritual dimension of their Christian beliefs to practise “a strong sense of efficacy, [dedication] to the care of children, …[and] use collaboration that is more relational and consensus building” (Alston, 2005, pp. 681-682). It was their Christian principles that led the women to demonstrate a servant leadership approach with a mission to serve.
Similarly, Grogan and Shakeshaft (2009) noted, in their examination of literature on women‟s approaches to educational leadership in the United States, that “women extend the ministerial aspect of their leadership and include a spiritual dimension…to their success and the ability to push forward, often in conflictual and difficult situations” (p. 23). This means that regardless of the circumstances women educational leaders encounter, the pastoral aspect of Christianity enables them to persevere in their roles. However, this part of their leadership could also be taken advantage of. Women whose leadership style is based on forbearance and forgiveness, and who have learned and are socialised to lead in silence may seem unwilling to address challenges to their practice. Consequently, women may have to continue to endure more challenges to their leadership practice. This aspect of PNG women‟s educational experience is significant in the wider consideration of their approach to managing gender-based challenges or conflict. It is also possible that the servant leadership approach could be disadvantageous in a traditionally patriarchal society such as PNG.
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In Strachan and Saunders‟ (2007) research in Vanuatu, one of the participants commented that “to be a good leader…you have to be humble at heart, take time to listen and you do things for the benefit of others and yourself as well…[but] not only uplifting yourself” (p. 42). Being humble in a Melanesian context for women may mean further muffling of educational women leaders‟ voices, particularly when men are socialised to be outspoken and assertive and women to be passive. Exhibiting Christian principles are an important part of servant leadership approaches. Strachan (2009) stated that the characteristics of servant leadership such as “service to others, submission, humility and truthfulness fit with women‟s stereotypical roles within the Melanesian society” (p. 104). Servant leadership is widely practised by women in Melanesia because it is less threatening to men than more assertive styles (Pollard, 2006; Sanga et al, 2005; Strachan, et al, 2010; Warsal, 2009). This approach does not challenge the status quo, and as a result women‟s access to leadership is limited, unless women are aware of some of the limitations of the style and address them.
It is also possible that servant leadership is the only leadership model that the women know of and have been exposed to. Only when women observe and are aware of the possible variations in leadership styles and expectations can they have the option of choosing other approaches. Strachan, Akao, Kilavanwa and Warsal (2010) claimed that the servant leadership model in Melanesia is “problematic as it continues to position women as subordinates and does nothing to change the inequalities in attitudes, systems and social structures” (p. 71).
Akao (2008) found out in her research with secondary school women leaders in the Solomon Islands that their leadership demonstrated the characteristics of servant leadership but was also influenced by the social context. It seemed that leadership was affected not only by gender but also was a product of the cultural context. The notion that educational leadership is contextual is examined in the next section.
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