Distribution of Leadership as a Strategy for Institutional Improvement

Abstract

The concept of distributed leadership is presented in this article as an alternative to the hierarchical models of leadership. According to this concept, leadership is a property of groups and organizations, and is not a personality trait. Research has focused traditionally on identifying the personality traits and ideal actions of leaders, while ignoring that leadership also is manifest collectively, as a multilevel phenomenon. An overview of the various school leadership models is provided, and the concept of distributed leadership is put forth as a recent alternative to the individualistic idea of leadership. It is argued that institutional change and improvement in the modern school depend largely on collective participation in decision-making and on the existence of leadership exercised by teachers at levels other than the administrative level.