ABSTRACT
This chapter explores research on system leadership in the state of Victoria, Australia and does so from system, region and school perspectives. It integrates four pieces of related research from The University of Melbourne, and one report of district reform to provide an integrated perspective that links system through to school level leadership. At the system level, there were people that seemed to operate at a system leadership level, and these were at senior levels of the central and regional systems, with principal network leaders having potential to exercise system level leadership. Principals tended to not operate as system leaders because they had limited influence across schools. At a regional level, it was clear that regional directors could act as system level leaders, exerting wide influence on clusters of schools to improve. At the school level, system leadership was helpful but not the most important influence on school success. Whilst it can be helpful and act as a support, the work of the principal, other school leaders and, in the case study school, critical friends, were more important to the improvement journey of the school. So, it seems that system leadership can be important, but that it needs to work in conjunction with school leadership. Without good school leadership, the level of impact of system leadership is likely to be limited.
