Developing political astuteness: a leadership coaching journey

Abstract

This paper argues that political astuteness, or the ability to use political skills in the service of ethical judgements, is a complex yet essential element of school leadership development that is underemphasised in the leadership coaching literature. It also suggests that exploring the responsible use of power requires a narrative approach which, in turn, demands certain conditions of the coaching relationship. Drawing from the author's research and teaching, the paper makes an original contribution to the field by introducing a conceptual framework for ‘politically astute’ leadership coaching, using a narrative approach. In keeping with this approach, the framework is presented through the representative construction of a professional development story. The implications of this story for school leadership coaching are then discussed and some provisional conclusions drawn.

Keywords:

• leadership
• coaching
• organisational change