Distributed Leadership: The Importance Of Distributed Leadership

The concept of distributed leadership evolved over the years due to the ever-increasing variety of complexities faced by both school leaders and teachers on a daily basis. Such circumstances require that decision-making authority spreads to different degrees across the school organisation (Supovitz & Tognatta, 2013; Elmore, 2000; Lambert, 2003; Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond, 2001).

Harris and Spillane's (2008) state that distributed leadership primary concerns with "leadership practice and how leadership influences organisational and instructional improvement." (p.31) Leadership practice can involve the distribution of responsibility that Harris (2004) equates with power; working through teams and not just individuals; creating collective

Distributed leadership is currently receiving a lot of attention and growing empirical support (Harris 2004; Spillaine et al., 2001; Gronn, 2000). Such an increased interest in distributed leadership is triggering by the fact that it offers potential survival strategies for overworked leaders. A 21st-century leader has to exercise power and authority upon the development of trust.

Successful heads have a strong sense of agency, moral and ethical responsibility for the education and achievement of all students, and recognise that this is best achievable by exercising power and influence through and with, rather than over, staff (Day et al.,

The Head of School has to assist the teachers to take part in developing the leadership throughout the school.

A dynamic leader has to hold the pieces together to create a common culture of expectations around the use of individual capabilities hence, maximising the human capacity within the organisation (Harris, 2004). Leaders have to delegate to teachers according to their abilities. To be able to do this, a leader has to know the capabilities of the school staff. If the leader sees that for a new project, the school staff is not knowledgeable enough, s/he must provide training, guidance and support. If the Headteacher wants that the school staff embark on a new project, there have to be multiple sources of advice and direction following the contours of expertise in an organisation made coherent through a common culture (Elmore,