School Leadership Competencies As A Foundation for Effective Team Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v6i3.1191Keywords:
School Leadership, Leadership Competencies, Team Management, Educational Leadership, Professional Development, Instructional Leadership, Collaboration In Schools, School Effectiveness, Teacher Motivation, Strategic LeadershipAbstract
School leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping team dynamics and instructional quality within educational institutions. As the educational landscape increasingly embraces collaborative and distributed leadership models, the competencies of school leaders such as emotional intelligence, strategic vision, and instructional support are becoming central to effective team management. Despite acknowledgment of leadership's importance, many systems lack coherent frameworks to identify and cultivate the competencies critical for team cohesion and school development. This study aims to analyze key leadership competencies that underpin effective team management in schools and explore their influence on collaboration, communication, and trust among educators. Through a qualitative multiple case study of ten secondary schools, the findings highlight six core competencies emotional intelligence, strategic vision, communication, instructional leadership, decision-making, and conflict resolution as essential to team cohesion. Communication and trust emerged as central enablers of collaboration, while professional development was found to reinforce leadership impact. The research introduces a Leadership Impact Index (LII), a practical tool for quantifying leadership effectiveness in fostering collaboration, thus offering an innovative bridge between qualitative insights and measurable outcomes. The study underscores the need for competency-based leadership training, the institutionalization of professional development, and the implementation of diagnostic tools to support leadership evaluation. These findings inform both policy and practice, reinforcing leadership development as a strategic imperative for school improvement.
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