Distributed leadership in action: leading high-performing leadership teams in English schools

Heroic models of leadership based on the role of the principal have been supplemented by an emerging recognition of the value of 'distributed leadership'. The work of effective senior leadership teams (SLTs) is an important manifestation of distributed leadership, but there has been only limited research addressing the relationship between this model and leadership teams in education. This article reports the findings of research conducted for the English National College, on high-performing SLTs. The research adopted a case study approach with nine English schools (four secondary, three primary and two special). The schools were defined as 'high performing' because they received 'outstanding' Ofsted grades overall, and for leadership and management, in inspections conducted in 2008 2009. The research shows that high-performing leadership teams are characterised by internal coherence and unity, a clear focus on high standards, two-way communication with internal and external stakeholders and a commitment to distributed leadership.