Why trust the head? Key practices for transformational school leaders to build a purposeful relationship of trust

Abstract

Trust is widely recognized as one of the key qualities that a successful leader needs to bring about change within his/her organization. Literature has also shown that trust plays a pivotal role in effective school leadership. However, little research has been undertaken to identify specific actions of a transformational school leader enabling him/her to develop purposeful relationships of trust with his/her staff and Chair of the school’s governing body. Using a theoretical framework of transformational leadership in the context of the independent schooling sector in Australia, a multicase study of four highly trusted, transformational school leaders revealed 10 key trust building practices in the Head–staff dyad and three practices in the Head–Chair dyad. These practices were independent of the leader’s personal attributes. The study also revealed an inextricable link between trust and transformational leadership.

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Notes on contributors

Paul Browning

Paul Browning is the current headmaster of St Paul’s School, Brisbane, Australia. Email: [email protected]. Prior to his current appointment he was the foundation head of Burgmann Anglican School, Australian Capital Territory. His master’s thesis was titled The birth, life and death of a Commonwealth educational funding policy (Unicorn, Journal of the Australian College of Education, 1998). This work is a result of a PhD study examining trust in transformational school leadership.