ABSTRACT
Linda Massey and Steven Jay Gross explore how and why successful school leadership is dependent on developing communities of learning, rather than a purely individualistic approach that perhaps places too much pressure on one person to excel in an endless series of high-stake tests. Dominic Randolph also emphasizes collaboration, with colleagues and students, but he also stresses the need for divergent thinking, of adaptation and change. Outstanding school leaders typically make a strong contribution to educational debate. They find something to be expert on, something that distinguishes them, and their school, as being a pioneer. The ability to cope with failure is an important quality in a successful school leader. Challenge and condemnation is the required price for achievement. Great leaders realise that they need to dive down deep into their own experience and of humanity, and to bring that depth into the theatre of their school.
