Business of school leadership : a practical guide for managing the business dimension of schools

149 Pages·2010·1.791 MB·English

by  Riley, Dan, Smith, Larry

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The role of school principals and their executive staff has c
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changed rapidly and radically over the last decade. They Soo of
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these business roles, and very limited personal experience Rrs
in managing these matters. ileyhip
The intention of this book is to assist school leaders to
Leadership
understand and develop the knowledge and skills of
business processes. The book does not aim to convert
school leaders into accountants or entrepreneurs or
marketing specialists. The Business of School Leadership
highlights the key principles and tactics of business
operation that school leaders need if they are to effectively
A practical guide for managing the
manage both the educational and business imperatives of
their schools. In a sense, it is intended that the book
business dimension of schools
should become the ‘business bible’ for school leaders – a
single reliable resource they can turn to on a daily basis to
assist them in addressing business issues.
Professor Larry Smith holds a Chair in leadership and
management at the University of New England. He has Larry Smith
held senior leadership positions in both schools and
Dan Riley
private industry, and is a Fellow of both the Australian
Institute of Management and the Australian College of
Educators.
Dr Dan Riley is a Senior Lecturer in School Leadership at
the University of New England. He is a Fellow of the
Australian Council for Educational Leaders, and has
previously been a principal in the school sector.
ISBN 978-0-86431-965-4
9 780864 319654
Australian Council for Educational Research
The
Business
of
School
Leadership

The
Business
of
School
Leadership
A practical guide for managing the
business dimension of schools
Larry Smith
Dan Riley
ACER Press
First published 2010
by ACER Press, an imprint of
Australian Council ffoorr Educational Research Ltd
19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell
Victoria, 3124, Australia
www.acerpress.com.au
[email protected]
Text copyright © Larry Smith and Dan Riley 2010
Design and typography copyright © ACER Press 2010
This book is copyright. All rights reserved. Except under the conditions
described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent
amendments, and any exceptions permitted under the current statutory
licence scheme administered by Copyright Agency Limited (www.
copyright.com.au), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, transmitted, broadcast or communicated in any form
or by any means, optical, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Edited by Amanda Pinches
Cover design by ACER Project Publishing
Cover image: Shutterstock
Typeset by ACER Project Publishing
Printed in Australia by BPA Print Group
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Smith, Larry, 1952-
Title: The business of school leadership : a practical
guide for managing the business dimension of
schools / Larry Smith and Dan Riley.
ISBN: 9780864319654 (pbk.)
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects: School management and organization--Australia
Other Authors/Contributors:
Riley, Dan.
Dewey Number: 371.200994
This book is printed on Master Laser Paper derived from
well-managed forests and other controlled sources certified by the
Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organisation devoted to
encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests.
Foreword
In my several years as President of the Australian Council for Educational
Leaders (ACEL) in Queensland, and also as National President, I had the
opportunity to work closely with both Professor Larry Smith and Dr Dan
Riley. As board members, and as leaders of professional learning, they
consistently demonstrated the cornerstone of ACEL—translating good
theory into realistic, pragmatic and useful practice.
On first blush, it would seem that school leadership is very different
from business leadership. But as the authors (both highly respected and
credible members of the educational fraternity) make compellingly clear,
school leaders can profit from a look at strategies and processes proven
successful in business leadership. From their work we must acknowledge
that while a school is a unique and challenging environment in which to
practise, lessons can be learned from the greater leadership community.
Consistently, research on school leadership identifies multiple and
varied roles such as: defining a school’s vision and mission; managing
performance; promoting positive climate; fostering healthy school–
community relations; serving as change agent; promoting high
expectations; managing fiscal resources; and contributing to the overall
effectiveness of a school. While this is merely a partial list of duties and
responsibilities, the words vividly paint a portrait of the lofty expectations
we hold for school leaders. We expect school leaders to be organisational
leaders. This book is particularly eloquent and helpful regarding the
universal experience of school leaders struggling with the enactment of
their role.
This text explores practical and realistic processes through which the
leadership role of schools can be assisted by looking through the lens of
business wisdom. In some respects, the principles of effective business
leadership apply easily to school leadership. In other ways, they don’t.
v
vi Foreword
Yet I am convinced that much of the leadership theory successful in
business is directly transferable for educational leaders.
Consider the congruence of leadership ideas and ideals of both
business leadership and educational leadership. Bolman and Deal
(2003) describe an effective leader as a social architect and a servant
who supports and empowers others. Similarly, Sergiovanni (1996)
emphasises the human potential of leadership, and the importance of
moral judgment and stewardship. He also argues that if we want theory
to reflect emerging practice then we need to examine the confluence of
emerging trends and strategies, whether it is in business or educational
leadership theory.
Richardson et al. (1996) compared leader characteristics between
business and educational environments and found—as per Kouzes and
Posner’s 1993 study of attributes of superior business managers—that
teachers identified the same four characteristics desired in principals,
ranked in the identical order: honesty; competence; forward-looking;
and inspirational. Thus, it seems fair to infer that the characteristics and
behaviours desired in effective business leaders are the same ones preferred
in school leaders.
Smith and Riley blend commonsense business ideas and good practice
into transferable processes and concepts that all school leaders will find
useful in their work. Much of what makes a great business successful can
help make a school flourish effectively as well.
Successful contemporary leaders must possess collaborative skills
and reflect on the efficacy of their practice. To do so requires the concept
of school leadership to be eclectic and evolve away from the familiar,
traditional 20th century style towards one that is compatible with the
complexities of the 21st century. Somerville and Mroz (1997) make it clear
that for business and schools in this century organisational competence
will be based not on past principles of ownership, stability and control,
but rather on the emerging principles of interdependence, flexibility and
partnership. To prosper, all leaders will need to encourage multidisciplinary
teaming, forge organic partnerships and promote knowledge networking.
This text is designed for those of us who manage these significant economic
enterprises called schools with fixed and recurrent overheads and revenue
streams. It is also for those of us who lead the diverse array of people who
are working towards meeting the needs and developmental levels of an
even more diverse array of students. Our schools are both a business and
educational institution, but also a community.
This handbook for educational leaders is the first Australian work to
draw heavily on lessons from business, as well as from successful school
experiences. If your school is not what it could or should be, something
Foreword vii
needs to change. This marvellous new resource provides you with the
necessary ingredients for success.
It’s a privilege to be able to write a foreword for this book—I commend
it to you.
Ken Avenell
Past President, Australian Council for Educational Leaders
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2003). Reframing Organisations: Artistry,
choice and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1993). The Leadership Challenge. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Richardson, M. D., Lane, K. E., & Flanigan, J. L. (1996). ‘Teachers’
perceptions of principals’ attributes.’ The Clearing House, 69(5),
290–2.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (1996). Moral Leadership: Getting to the heart of school
improvement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Somerville, I., & Mroz, J. E. (1997). ‘New competencies for a new
world.’ In F. Hesselbein, M. Goldsmith, & R. Beckhard (Eds.), The
organization of the future (pp. 65–78). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Contents
Foreword v
About the authors x
Preface xi
1 Planning your strategy 1
2 Understanding the financials 14
3 Making good decisions 26
4 Making the most of your time 39
5 Managing those crises 52
6 Marketing your school 63
7 Managing your staff for success 79
8 Managing risks and liabilities 95
9 Reviewing your school’s business performance 105
Glossary 114
References 119
Further reading 127
ix