THE ACTIONS OF GOOD LEADERS: A RESEARCH COMMENTARY ON CANADIAN LEADERSHIP LESSONS

How might research in one organizational area be understood in another? Although our research on leadership was completed in education – specifically in elementary schools, we believe the findings of this research might be useful in a variety of areas and other organizations. Over the course of two years, our research interviewed all faculty and staff at five highly-effective elementary schools. During these interviews, we asked two questions: (A) What makes this school a good place to work? and (B) How does leadership help? Data were gathered through interviews; then this data was organized, analyzed, and synthesized. In synthesizing our original study data, we focused upon three questions: (1) What? {What did we find?}; (2) So What? {What do these findings mean?}; and, (3) Now What? {What should we do after we make sense of the findings?}. This paper analyzes and shares findings about question #3. Because our conceptual framework focuses on best leadership practices, our paper does not report specific findings but attempts to thoughtfully consider what these findings suggest broadly for school leadership. Full findings can be found in our book: Living Leadership for Learning: Case Studies of Five Alberta Elementary School Leaders (2011).