One type of leader who can turn around a failing school?

Are you a surgeon, soldier, accountant, philosopher or architect?  The research by Laker & Hill published in October this year has received a lot of media attention.  Laker & Hill identified 5 ‘types’ of leadership and argued that only one ‘type’ (the architect) is able to have any real long-term impact on a school.  They stated that the ‘surgeon’ superheads often put into failing schools for a short period did not provide any long-lasting impact.  The most effective leaders are often the least well-known and least rewarded.

The full article can be read in Harvard Business Review here - The One Type of Leader Who Can Turn Around a Failing School

Schools Week coverage is available here - PE and RE teachers are least effective superheads, new study reveals

There has been some criticism of the research, as the authors have not yet made available the full method and data behind the analysis, they do now plan to do so according to this article in TES - Is 'architect vs surgeon' school leadership research too good to be true?