Positive School Leadership

This landmark book translates positive and asset-based understandings of organizations to develop a powerful model of school leadership that is grounded in both existing research and the complexities of life in schools. The authors—both senior scholars in educational leadership—apply insights from positive psychology to the role and function of educational leaders. The Positive School Leadership (PSL) model draws on the strengths of relationships among staff and the broader school community to communicate and instill shared values and a common mission. This book builds a compelling case for creating a more inclusive, less “mechanistic” approach to leadership. Designed to engage both the hearts and minds of readers, the text is organized around reflective questioning of educational practice and current assumptions about the purposes and goals of leadership in schools.

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Book Features:

• An integrated way to think about organizational, interpersonal, and systemic leadership from the inside out.
• A look at positive leadership in action, demonstrating how it operates to strengthen relationships that make a school more effective.
• An examination of the long-range impacts that can be anticipated from reorienting schools toward positive leadership.
• Reflective questions in each chapter that engage readers in deeper analysis of the information presented.

Joseph F. Murphy is the Frank W. Mayborn Chair of Education and associate dean at the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University, and has served in public schools as an administrator at the school, district, and state levels. Karen Seashore Louis is Regents Professor and Robert H. Beck Chair of the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

"Unquestionably, this book and model are well-grounded in research, and the authors have made a conscientious effort to share the foundations of their thought. As a professor in a leadership preparation program, I have already suggested this book to students, colleagues, and practicing administrators in both leadership and other fields."

—Teachers College Record

“The highlight of the book is the support for the importance of building relationships, which the authors call “the heart of Positive School Leadership.”

—School Administrator

"Murphy and Louis’s Positive School Leadership makes an extraordinary contribution at a critical time. Harnessing the possibility of school leadership as a positive, value-based calling, they offer an integrated theory of leadership that is compelling, useable, and grounded in research. Educational leadership practitioners and scholars will find this an essential and inspiring read."
—Michelle D. Young, executive director, University Council for Educational Administration

“Positive School Leadership is a timely reminder that relationships, individual support, team work, and personal values still matter, in leadership as in other areas of life. Blending psychological and leadership theories, a vast amount of research, and their own extensive experience, Murphy and Louis offer a hopeful vision of leadership for those facing the enormous challenges of school improvement.”
—Daniel L. Duke, University of Virginia

“The leadership context in which we find ourselves all too often is one that is tragically powered by divisiveness, deficit, and despair. The moment has come for a renewal of possibility and potential and most importantly the time to enliven the deathless dream of care, compassion, and a commitment positive school leadership. Contained within these timely pages is a leadership framework that is intellectually rigorous, deeply insightful and powerfully connected to our shared humanity. Let the renewal of leadership and organizations begin and let it be guided by this fine body of work.”
—Alan J. Daly, University of California, San Diego

“In a world of education reforms that have fallen short of expectations, Murphy and Louis make a strong case that positive leadership can create the foundation for sustainable change.”
—Philip Hallinger, Mahidol University

Tentative Table of Contents

PART I: INTRODUCING THE DNA OF POSITIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Chapter 1. The Model of Positive School Leadership
   Building Our Theory
   The Model of Positive School Leadership: An Overview
   Moving Forward
   Appendix: Leadership Models Emerging from Initial Search Processes

Chapter 2. Dimensions of Positive School Leadership
   Positive Orientation
   Moral Orientation
   The Relational Orientation
   Spiritual Stewardship Orientation
   Conclusion

Chapter 3. Principles of Positive School Leadership
   Asset-Based
   Value-Centered
   Virtue-Based
   Transcendent
   Relationally Grounded
   Focused on Means as Well as Ends
   Growth-Based
   Authentic
   Service-Grounded
   Summary

PART II: POSITIVE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Chapter 4. Positive Leader-Member Relationships: An Exchange Perspective
   Getting Started: Why Care About Exchanges?
   Into the Weeds with LMX
   Subordinate Perceptions
   Quality and Timing in Leader–Member Exchanges
   Organizational Outcomes of Leader–Member Exchanges
   Can Any Leader Do This?

Chapter 5. Positive Behavior and the Relational Basis for Organizing
   Behavioral Perspectives: More Weeds
   Supporting: A Behavioral Foundation for Everything Else
   Enabling and Empowering: Developing Strong Partners
   Modeling: Illuminating the Behavioral Path
   Acting Authentically: Being Consistent and True
   Establishing Values: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
   Developing Relationships: Behavioral Strategies
   Positive School Leader Behaviors: A Catalytic Strategy for Improvement

Chapter 6. Taking the Organizational Temperature: A Focus on Individual Well-Being
   Positive Emotions
   Positive Psychological States: Self-Concept
   Positive Orientations to Work: Job Crafting and Meaning
   Leading the School by Taking the Temperature of Individuals

PART III: THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Chapter 7. Positive Leaders, Teams, and Meaningful Work
   Introduction
   Emotions
   Collective Self-Concept: Team Climate and Mental Models
   Meaningful Work
   Designing and Developing Teams
   Next Steps

Chapter 8. Positive Leadership and the Organization
   Positive Leadership and Organizational Climate
   Positive Leadership and Organizational Culture
   Organizational Performance and Productivity
   Summary

Chapter 9. The Case for Positive Leadership in Schools
   A Model of Positive School Leadership
   Broader Social Outcomes of Positive Leadership
   Conclusion

References

Index

About the Authors