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Managerial Leadership

15 January, 2016 - 09:24
Available under Creative Commons-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/fd216b00-a56f-4eba-bf72-81eeadb85add@1.1

The type of leadership most closely associated with formal models is "managerial."

    Managerial leadership assumes that the focus of leaders ought to be on functions, tasks and behaviours and that if these functions are carried out competently the work of others in the organisation will be facilitated. Most approaches to managerial leadership also assume that the behaviour of organisational members is largely rational. Authority and influence are allocated to formal positions in proportion to the status of those positions in the organisational hierarchy. (Leithwood et al, 1999, p. 14)

    Dressler's (2001) review of leadership in Charter schools in the United States shows the significance of managerial leadership: “Traditionally, the principal”s role has been clearly focused on management responsibilities” (p. 175). Managerial leadership is focused on managing existing activities successfully rather than visioning a better future for the school.