Strategic leadership

Strategic leadership refers to the ability to pursue valued goals with, and through, others.

The core work of the strategic leader is to:

• Work with stakeholders to build an overarching vision of what kind of organisation is sought
• Articulate broad strategic goals
• Convert them to measurable annual goals (targets) and strategies to reach them
• Monitor and manage the progress towards them

Strategic leadership involves setting the direction of the school, identifying challenges and areas of need, establishing goals and a plan to achieve them, and bringing the school community along. It is important that schools are engaged in continual improvement and it is job of strategic leaders to drive this work.

There is a range of research from both school and organisational literature on the importance and attributes of strategic leadership. The school-based research evidence suggests that, while strategic leadership is important, its impact on student learning outcomes is not as great as instructional leadership.

Strategic leadership involves setting the direction for the school, establishing annual goals that are centred on the students and their learning, setting targets, and taking action. It also is important that strategic leaders monitor their progress towards the established goals and targets.

• How are our students progressing and how do we know?
• Where do we need to concentrate our efforts as a school?
• What do we as a school want to achieve and what are the best ways to achieve it?
• How have I involved the different stakeholders of the school community in these processes?