In a time of economic uncertainty, technological complexity and global insecurity and mobility, what is the direction in which leaders should be taking educational systems? And in a context of increasingly sophisticated goals and purposes for high quality education, what are the best and most appropriate ways in which leadership should be carried out? What purposes and processes of educational leadership are the most appropriate ones for this particular age?

Recent years have witnessed considerable research, theorization and policy activity on the drivers of leadership and change in education. The somewhat masculine and management-derived metaphor of driving has associated leadership with the physics of speed, acceleration, momentum and thrust towards a given and unquestioned destination. But even within the questionable metaphor of driving, little or no attention in policy debate has been assigned to other aspects of driving and also of leadership that are more integral parts of the literature and research on leadership. Who is doing the driving and what is the direction of travel? These are the neglected questions of modern leadership policy and practice.

This keynote address brings together Professor Hargreaves’s foundational writing on Sustainable Leadership and Uplifting Leadership, on his contributions to recent policy analyses with the OECD of educational reform in Scotland and Wales, and on his current research on leading from the middle in school districts and school networks to answer these fundamental questions concerning the purpose and direction of leadership and the most effective processes for achieving it.