Sustaining Leadership in Complex Times: An Individual and System Solution

Introduction

Leadership energy has recently received greater attention as people grapple with the complexity, not only of achieving substantial improvement under challenging circumstances, but also of maintaining organizational momentum for continuous improvement (see Davies, 2005; Fullan, 2005, 2006; Fullan, Hill, & Crévola, 2006; Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; Loehr & Schwartz, 2003).

In this chapter, we delve into the issues of leadership sustainability by examining a large school district with which we are associated. It is a particularly appropriate case for the topic, because the district has been intensively engaged in a district-wide reform for the past five years and has relied heavily on mobilizing leadership at all levels ...