ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at why Systems Leadership was introduced in the Far North region by the regional director. The difference between the region before and after Systems Leadership originates in the purpose. From the 1970s as teacher preparation transferred from training colleges to the faculties of universities, education struggled for recognition as a profession and a contrived collegiality and congeniality developed among educators to reinforce their own belief in the efficacy of practice in spite of the evidence. The term “system” is more likely used to describe the department or sector as “the system” than it is to be used in organising work. Although good teachers and good principals typically use systems to do their work there is limited appreciation of systems and how they contribute to achieving purpose. Systems leadership theory is about the work. In education as in many other industries, generic position descriptions are used to describe the work that a person is expected to do.
