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Attributes of a Leader

Distributed Leadership

Author Manjula Waniganayake, from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, wrote about the theory of distributed leadership and how it may be used in the early childhood sector. The approach is based on valuing the collective knowledge of the group of educators who work together in a sharing environment and is often perceived as relational.

Leadership skills are learned and need to be supported within the team. 

According to Waniganayake, there are five assumptions to consider: 

  1. Every staff member can lead. Educators who lack formal preparation or self-confidence may find it too stressful to be consistent leaders until they have increased knowledge.
  2. Every staff member wishes to lead. Some educators resist leadership roles, but they may change their minds at different times in their career.
  3. A leadership role is legitimized solely by the head teacher or manager. Peer approval and recognition of leadership capabilities can make a difference in implementation of leadership.
  4. A distributed perspective occurs naturally. It takes time and planning and some reconceptualizing of the roles of positions.
  5. A distributed perspective is unproblematic. Tension points have been identified such as teacher identity and autonomy, lack of a shared definition of what is distributed leadership, and other factors such as gender, ethnicity, age and differences in qualifications. Staffing ratios, inadequate work policies, differing philosophies, and lack of monitoring may also impact distributing leadership.

After considering all you have encountered in this activity, reflect on your understanding of the different leadership styles in your journal.

Reference

Waniganayake, M. (2014). Being and becoming early childhood leaders: Reflections on leadership studies in early childhood education and the future leadership research agenda. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 3(1): 66-81.  https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/being-and-becoming-early-childhood-leaders-reflections-on-leaders


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