From simplicism to complexity in leadership identity and preparation: exploring the lineage and dark secrets

Abstract

This article challenges the largely Western, functionalist and unitary notion of the self which underlies contemporary international approaches to educational leadership preparation. It locates an alternative concept of the self as simultaneously singular and multiple in deep‐rooted and persisting mythic, religious and metaphysical thinking. The article suggests that identity is self‐ and co‐constructed to achieve a sense of coherence, worth and belonging, primarily through ongoing narratives and relationships. As a consequence, a leader must construct an identity performance to take up the role of leader, develop narratives and adapt identities to the ongoing surveillance of an accountability audience. The article suggests that preparation, in focusing on the acquisition of technical craft skills related to administration and socialization into a generally uncontested set of values and norms, evades and miniaturizes the performance of leadership. The preparation of leaders for complex, uncertain and ambiguous roles may be supported by focusing on the mythic narratives of self and context, thereby examining how the many fluid and constantly mutating intersections of conscious and subconscious selves may be utilized to enact a self‐aware leadership.