Collective Efficacy: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Leadership: Volume 20

Social entrepreneurs are leaders who aspire to build more just societies through the mechanisms of the market. The concept of social enterprise has grown increasingly popular, but it continues to be a nebulous notion. This chapter explores the meaning of social enterprise and the attributes and characteristics of social entrepreneurial leaders whose enterprises have become the vehicles of social, economic, and even political transformations. The transformative potential of social entrepreneurial leaders is illustrated with brief, but prominent, examples that are aimed to inspire further research. It is shown that social entrepreneurship is not confined to an exclusive arena, but actually flourishes in diverse sectors. It is also posited that educational institutions and organizations can promote greater interest and investment in social entrepreneurship as a progressive model for a positive social change.

This chapter examines the tensions inherent in conceptions of social justice as they relate to educational administrator preparation programs. In order to determine how social justice is conceptualized in K-12 administrator preparation in Ontario, Canada, we conduct a document analysis of publicly available information related to provincial leadership preparation programs. We identify an ideological bias toward managerial and transformational leadership paradigms which favor externally mandated outcomes that unintentionally reinstate hierarchical management paradigms and democratic forms of racism (Henry, Tator, Mattis, & Rees, 2000). Drawing on critical democratic and antiracist literature and our own research and practice, we propose an approach to leadership preparation that can support diversity and transformative praxis while working within a mandated transformational paradigm.

This chapter introduces how the teaching of leadership, within negotiation, conflict transformation, and peace building uses adult education strategies. In turn, adult education effectively prepares learners, especially those concerned about poverty, and injustice, to be active agents working on behalf of community development. Optimally, the pedagogy of conflict transformation and peace building incorporates the best of both adult and leadership education. The chapter begins with a case study where the ecumenical Services for Peace (SEP) inspired an agricultural cooperative and other response to community need between conflicted communities in Cameroon. SEP did so through using adult education in mediation and peace building strategy that prioritized reflective practice (assessment, monitoring, and evaluation). The chapter then shows how these same and other adult learning activities are used in the authors’ classroom to teach conflict transformation so that students master collaborative skills. As a result, they are potently equipped to act as effective leaders on behalf of social justice concerns.

This chapter presents the origin of the theoretical framework of servant leadership proposed by Robert Greenleaf. This brief history is followed up by an examination of empirical studies on the key elements of a servant leader and a conceptual model of servant leadership. In addition, this chapter explores the effectiveness of servant leadership in various international contexts based on the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Programs (GLOBE) humane construct. Finally, the authors use continuous improvements programs as a process to analyze how servant leadership may help the successful implementation of continuous change.

According to Gardner (1990), leadership is defined as “the process of persuasion or examples by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers” (p. 1). Though this definition of leadership is popular, this analysis is laced with assumptions. It fails to acknowledge the intentional and often covert hierarchical nature of leadership, which negatively affects marginalized groups, that is, the “so-called” followers. The assumption in traditional notions is that everyone is striving toward the same goals and all receive the same benefits. Under this model, no individual is forced or compelled to acknowledge his/her own privilege, biases, or recognize the potential role each person has in perpetuating oppression. By demystifying these assumptions, the authors provide alternative ways to think about leadership.

A youthful sub-Saharan Africa presents fertile grounds to nurture a new breed of inspirational and resilient leadership that could transform the continent for decades to come. Population statistics indicate that 44% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is less than 15 years old. The timing is ripe to infuse transformational leadership skills targeting the youth to build sustainable peace. The most potent force of change in Africa today is her youthful, progressive, and courageous population. A renewed sense of patriotism, nationalism, and a brighter Africa abound with hope and prosperity is in the hands of the youth. The United States President Barack Obama recently said, “… You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future” (Remarks by President Obama to the Ghanaian Parliament, July 11, 2009). This chapter incorporates the principles and power of appreciative inquiry, moral imagination, and moral leadership to offer the African Youth inspiration for fresh leadership. The overall outcome will be a discourse toward an African Youth Theory of Inspirational Servant Leadership.

This chapter reports on one faculty member’s experience introducing a service learning component into a sequence of required courses in a College of education at a University in the United Arab Emirates. This study identifies local issues associated with introducing service learning into the curriculum and examines students’ perceptions of self, attitudes toward service to others, and service as leadership and outcomes. Relatively little evidence exists in the Middle East of the actual processes involved in developing and implementing service learning programs and the relevant connections that can be made to Islamic principles for community advocacy and leadership.

For generations, higher education in much of Sub-Saharan Africa has been disengaged from the problems of local communities largely due to the design of colonial education and the later thinking of industrial models of education where knowledge was received from experts at the top of the knowledge ladder. But new knowledge economics, the possibility of building collective learning frameworks and the need to solve globally linked problems that involve local communities is changing this thinking. Globally linked problems such as disease, environment, social and political stability and globalisation manifest locally and create challenges locally in various ways. This chapter explores the leadership of Zambia’s flagship university in serving the needs of local communities’ sustainable development with research and service resources of its graduate education system and its network. Understanding that knowledge is now formed both by collectives of people at the community level that is linked through major networks, it is particularly important that universities take a leadership role in building linkages to local communities. Specifically, leadership in the following community linkage areas are examined: community service schemes, consultancy services, research and project partnerships, community field tours and capacity development.

In May 2012, Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca took a bold step in leadership and created the Education-Based Incarceration (EBI) Bureau. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) essentially established a school district inside “… the nation’s largest jail system” (Baca, 2010, p. 58). With approximately 20,000 inmates, nearly 8,000 men and women now receive some form of rehabilitative education across seven county jail facilities. The new EBI Bureau, led by a captain, was established to fulfill Sheriff Baca’s vision to provide education to all incarcerated men and women in Los Angeles County. EBI is a system that “is focused on deterring and mitigating crime by investing in its offenders through education and rehabilitation. … By providing substantive and intellectual education in jails, and being supportive rather than punitive in efforts to reduce crime-related behavior, the likelihood to recidivate will be lowered while success and stability in the community occurs” (Baca, 2010, p. 54). The implementation of this new system has not come without resistance. Using a system’s thinking conceptual framework, this chapter examines the leadership impact of Sheriff executive staff, the custody staff, and the inmate, as it pertains to the blending of two distinct systems – jail and school. Furthermore, the chapter explains the roles of leadership in reducing jail violence and recidivism.

Political leadership is decisive in the development of people and their communities. Bad leadership ushers in general stagnation and underdevelopment, while good leadership has the potential to transform people and their communities positively. African leadership is to be blamed for Africa’s underdevelopment. Concern was more regarding postcolonial leadership in Africa with having and keeping (consolidating) political power than using such power to develop the continent’s abundant natural resources. For Africa to come off its development quack mire and face the future with hope, there is need for a clean break from the past generation of political leaders. This is critical because the leaders of old generation are trying to position their stooges to take over power as the case in Gabon, Togo, DRC, Cameroon, etc. Africa has 60% youthful population and needs a youthful leadership abreast with the challenges of globalization and translation of such challenges into opportunities within the African context. At present, the responsibility of Africa's future lies with its youthful civil society. Through its role of monitoring governance and promoting and protecting rights, it has developed a rich experience across Africa. The Arab spring brings along with it the hope of leadership change on the continent. Firstly, it is a clean break from the gerontocracy. Secondly, it is motivation by the need to improve on the socioeconomic livelihood of the people. Lastly, it is supported by the African academia and diaspora. The failure of this emerging leadership class to usher in strong and transparent institutions to carry Africa forward would be suicidal.

The development and practice of school leadership in the Philippines is influenced by a rich history that has helped to shape policy and education in a diverse cultural landscape. Periods of Spanish and American colonization have challenged core Filipino values of community and kinship and shaped the way contemporary school leadership preparation and development occur in the Philippines. The role of school leaders in the Philippines is further framed by kinship dynamics, which have been consistently integral to the Filipino concept of self and to the way individuals interact with others. Kinship is the nucleus of the Filipino social organization, from indigenous groups to colonial aristocratic ethnic and social groups. The Filipino concept of leadership is derived from a value set that rests on both biological and ritual forms of kinship, which in turn drives leadership practice in communities and schools.

In times of crisis, the demand for responsible leadership is urgent. It is necessary to transform this urgency into a reality when there is a lack of future prospects for young people, community, and business institutions and organizations. This can be attributed to the absence of a hierarchical structure for important values which need to be recognized, received, and shared. It is an important challenge that the international community is called to face in every field of human, commercial, and political relations. This chapter discusses the essential elements of effective leadership and identifies practices to avoid transformation to a negative leadership model. Furthermore, this chapter aims to steer a course for leadership practices that will result in excellence.

This chapter explores the international field of leadership coaching from a sociological perspective. The fundamental features of the leadership coaching industry are outlined using primary data collected from in-depth interviews with leadership coaches, ethnographic observation of coach-training workshops, and secondary data analysis of global coaching surveys. Leadership coaching is defined and contextualized within the field of leadership studies as well as within the broader international coaching industry. The issue of certification is examined along with an overview of the global demographics of who is involved in leadership coaching as practitioners and clients. The goal is to explicate how and why leadership coaching has emerged as a professional field and to offer insight into how leaders around the world are being trained and developed for various leadership roles in their communities.

The concept of leadership is an oft-discussed issue among practitioners and scholars alike without regard to culture, background, or organizational affiliation. Based on our international experiences, leadership is an art that is traditionally taught as a science which is impacted via various psychological concepts. It is both a natural phenomenon and a learned attribute that is planted, nurtured, developed, and tested over time. Certain leadership approaches are formal, only succeeding in formal settings and environments while others are dependent upon conditioning of the leader. Regardless of one’s leadership style and characteristics, it is critical that both leaders and followers define and understand the variances between failure and success within an organization. This chapter addresses international leadership styles and the psychological theories that support differing approaches assisting the reader to more clearly understand and identify the subtle differences in the development of a successful leader and organization from global perspectives.

What happens when leaders are unable to keep leading? Leaders are often expected to be enthusiastic, innovative and help lead their organization forward. However, sometimes they can find themselves so emotionally and physically depleted that they are unable to function, even at the most basic level. Years of stress, heavy responsibilities, personal issues and unhealthy work hours can take a toll in the form of ‘burnout’. The battery is flat and the car cannot start. There are many contributing factors to burnout. It comes at a high cost to the leader, his family and his organization. This chapter will look at the nature of burnout and examine how the leader’s personality, work role, leadership style and life experiences can all contribute to the development of this condition. The impact of burnout, pathways to recovery and some preventative measures will also be examined combining current research findings with the author’s own experience of burnout. This chapter aims to highlight the need for leaders to look after themselves and for organizations to help support their leaders in an effective way. Although recovery from burnout may be a difficult and long journey, leaders can regain their strength and motivation and return to the role stronger and with more effective coping strategies.

This chapter explores the role of leadership in restorative policing in England and Wales and the impact of the external criminal justice policy environment on attempts to embed restorative approaches into police practice. It is clear that certain aspects of restorative justice chime with long-standing values in police culture, not least the emphasis on common-sense decision-making and the removal of unnecessary bureaucracy advocated by a focus on informal resolution. Yet, we argue that restorative policing cannot work where these ideas are placed solely in individual programmes. Instead, a clear vision needs to be articulated by police leaders with subsequent programmes being built around this overarching philosophy of ‘restorative policing’ that encourages leadership to ‘bubble up’ from below.

This chapter reports findings from a qualitative case study of principals and assistant school principals in southern Thailand who work in areas targeted by Muslim separatist groups. Principals and assistant school principals discussed the pressures they experienced working in an area of conflict and the requirements placed upon them by the Thai Ministry of Education (MoE). This study emphasizes the importance of social context to school leadership and career development. Findings suggested that the MoE’s centralized practice of policy implementation has particular consequences on the development of principals in the three border provinces because it fails to take into account the unstable social context. Consequently, many teachers working to become principals and principals wanting to become senior principals find themselves unable to meet the requirements and resort to unethical practices to achieve promotion.

Prosecutors are politically elected officials entrusted with the sensitive responsibilities of prosecuting law violators. The strength and admissibility of evidence is tantamount to a successful prosecution, not politics, personal views, or other outside influences. And, the Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors must ensure justice is achieved for crime victims and criminal defendants alike. However, outside influences, personal views, and other factors may influence a prosecutor’s leadership and decision making in some criminal cases. Since the office of prosecution is an elected position, their success is based on convictions whether achieved through plea bargaining or a guilty verdict at trial. This chapter examines criminal cases in which prosecutorial leadership strategies and decisions have circumvented justice in the name of politics or political correctness. The lack of evidence or withholding of evidence in these cases suggests that some prosecutors are more interested in personal or political interests rather than justice.