Leaders in Succession
Rotation in International School Administration
Planning leadership rotation is a strategy that many business organizations adopt. The reasons for implementing this strategy can be diverse, but their primary goal is to make positive change and improvement, leading to greater effectiveness and higher profitability. This is not any different in for-profit international schools where leadership rotation is expected to improve the quality of school programs, work culture and student enrolment.
However, this strategy can have both positive and negative impacts to the organization depending on how the strategy is perceived and received by employees. Informed by theories of leadership, this case study aimed to explore the changes arising from the implementation of a system of periodic rotation of leaders at a private international school in Hong Kong. The qualitative research was specifically designed to discover how school staff perceive and respond to this system of leadership rotation, what issues would arise for experienced staff as a consequence of this rotation model, and its overall impact on the school management systems.
The findings show that leadership rotation serves as an effective tool to improve schoolwork culture and outcomes, especially when supported by transformational leadership models. Although the participants’ feelings toward leadership rotation were divided, the research study shows that the rotation of leaders over a three- to five-year period did result in new ideas and creativity for school programs and activities.
While the context of this study was a private international school in Hong Kong, the overall findings are considered applicable for business organizations of any type.
Introduction
This study aims to explore the changes and improvements that may be experienced by a Hong Kong private international school, Delia School of Canada, as a consequence of implementing leadership rotation as part of the school’s wider business strategy for organizational development. This leadership rotation model may benefit the school by facilitating a review of processes and procedures, enhancing the professional learning of the academic leaders, and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.
The problem this study investigates is one that concerns all business organizations that choose to deploy leadership rotation as part of their overall strategy of succession planning for top leaders. That is, to what extent is this leadership rotation model effective? How do leaders and key personnel react to this process? Precisely, what is the impact of leadership rotation for a for-profit private international school in Hong Kong?
Literature
Business organizations often transform to keep up with their changing customer behaviour, demands, expectations, competitor behaviour, new governmental regulations, new technologies, economic and political developments, appointment of new senior management, company relocation, and new ideas to deliver services more efficiently. Organizational restructuring is common when organizations transform, including bringing in new leaders to facilitate change and improvement. It is deployed as a strategic tool to improve productivity and profitability. As part of a business’s succession plan, leadership rotation is not uncommon in the business world. Organizations rotate leaders to lead new changes and to bring in fresh ideas in the hope of improving productivity and profitability.
A leadership rotation is sometimes needed in an educational institution. Low student and staff retention can be a sign of the educational institution not progressing. In Ontario, Canada, school boards rotate principals regularly, usually about every three to five years. They rotate principals to bring new ideas to their school programs and to provide opportunities for teachers to work under different leaderships. The strategy is used in order to bring about successful school improvement. A leadership change may have a great impact on the educational institution’s programs, culture and student enrolment.
Rotation of leaders helps regulate leadership succession. Succession is a process used by an organization that marks the departure of a leader of a particular department and the entry of a successor from another department of the organization. The quality and style of leadership of any business helps form its character. A change in leadership may result in a change of organizational culture. Managing leadership change is equally important in schools as it can impact school plans, policies and procedures. A change of leadership may also bring school improvements and may benefit all stakeholders.
Methodology
The research was conducted in an environment in which the researcher was familiar with the stakeholders. Qualitative educational research may help to understand education by looking at everyday activities in the education sector. Everyday activities are the building blocks of society and the way people act in their everyday activities can be traced to determine their impact. A qualitative research method was used and the study was designed as a case study. A case study provides real-life experiences, and it allows readers to understand and relate to ideas more than if they are only presented theories. In order to collect primary data, the study involved direct observations, participant observations, and qualitative interviews. The researcher could then connect the findings of the research to all valid literature and quality studies to prove that the advantages of rotating academic leaders in an international educational institution outweigh the disadvantages.
Findings
The participants’ opinions on leadership rotation were divided. Some participants realized that rotating leaders assisted schools with making school improvements. When schools have talented leaders, their skills could be paired with schools according to their needs at a certain point in time. On the contrary, teachers who were contented would not welcome any changes made to their work routines. They felt that their efforts in making school improvements were interrupted by the rotation of leaders.
This research study on leadership rotation has shown that leadership rotation has positive and negative effects on school leadership, school culture and school improvements. Different leaders bring staff different skill sets that they can learn from. Rotating leaders helps to bring in new ideas and creativity for school programs and student activities. Leadership rotation has improved schools at a faster pace, enabling them to compete in a highly competitive market. Having a female leader in a leadership rotation could also be inspirational for female staff.
Staff also equated change of leadership with the negative leadership of the predecessor. The participants would like the school to be more fluent in its philosophy of rotating leaders. Schools might be able to benefit more from a broader pool of talent as a result of leadership rotation. Furthermore, if schools can maintain consistency in their leadership rotation, school projects and improvement plans would have a better chance of being maintained and carried through to the next rotation.
Conclusion
This research study on leadership rotation has shown that leadership rotation has positive and negative effects on school leadership, school culture and school improvements. The positive effects include: different leaders bring staff different skill sets that they can learn from; leadership rotation helps to bring in new ideas and creativity for school programs and student activities; leadership rotation has improved school at a faster pace and enabled the school to compete in a highly competitive market; and having a female leader in the leadership rotation was inspirational for female staff. These positive changes helped the school sustain student enrolment, and in turn, maintained the profitability of the school. Positive change of school culture can develop effective leaders and staff, improve teaching and learning, strengthen collaboration, and assist student and school performance to excel. Some staff indicated that the school culture had retained good students in the school. Schools with a positive school culture foster respect and trust among stakeholders and enhance structural changes, and in turn lead to successful and effective teaching and learning.
In summary, while the context of this research was a private international school in Hong Kong, the findings and recommendations would appear equally relevant for any business organization that needs to develop leadership succession planning strategies such as leadership rotation models. Leaders in any organizations play an important role, and it becomes essential that they maintain their motivational levels and those of their staff while maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. This research suggests that planned leadership rotation is a useful strategy to achieve these goals.
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