ABSTRACT
This chapter, informed by Foucauldian theory, aims to explore leadership self-creation and the practice of leadership within educational settings. It seeks to examine how those in leadership roles subjectify themselves in order to fulfil these roles and the related governmentality in operation. The chapter considers Foucault’s technologies of the self as a potentially fruitful means to engage with leadership research and to understand the ways in which those in leadership roles choose to position themselves: in Foucault’s terminology, the ethics of their relationship with the self in terms of their professional lives. It suggests that Foucault’s ethical framework offers considerable potential, not just in terms of leadership analysis but also in practical terms of leadership development and practice.
