A study of social and political acumen in dynamic educational  (Page 9/15)

Some of the results of the Chi-square data included:

Cultural leadership:p-value = 0.0423

Instructional leadership:p-value = 0.0234

Understanding political dimensions beyond the school: p-value = 0.012

• political acumen:p-value = 0.0137

The data analysis of the survey indicated that communication skills, interpersonal skills, and social acumen were most highly regarded by the principals as contributors to their leadership and necessary to educational leadership in general. The data did not indicate any specific skill that these principals thought was necessary for leadership but that they did not possess. Indeed, the skills that the principals identified as necessary for leadership were also the skills that these principals believed they possessed at varying levels. The skills that the principals identified as important for effective leadership were all skills involving social and political acumen. The data therefore reinforced this study’s premise that social and political acumen are integral to leadership development programs. In addition, the data supported the idea that leadership development is important for leaders and has the potential to support leaders’exercise of social and political acumen. An implication for leadership development is the need to ensure that the skills identified as necessary by these principals should be part of leadership programs; this is discussed in the implications section of this study.

Summary of Face-to-Face Interviews

All of the transcripts clearly reflected the principals’articulation of their commitment to fulfill their role in an effective way. They also reflected a group of people who had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities as leaders. These principals were able to talk about the challenges of their positions but also the joy and satisfaction that their leadership roles gave them. There was a clear indication that social and political acumen are integral to leadership. In addition, it was evident that these principals believed that leadership development plays an important role in supporting leaders and should involve the development of social and political acumen. In particular, the transcripts indicated that mentors played a significant role in the lives of all these principals and should be a part of leadership development programs.

Summary of the Focus Group

It was exciting to watch the dynamic of the focus group. The participants were obviously building on each other’s comments. There was a sense of the concepts and ideas evolving as the discussion progressed. This group profiled as a highly committed and enthusiastic group of leaders, and their comments reflected a high level of involvement in their own growth as leaders and their sense of responsibility to support and mentor other leaders. In addition, there was clear evidence of a common belief that their first responsibility was to their own community but that they also needed social and political acumen to be systemically aligned. All of the members talked about the need to be able to take risks as leaders, but these“risks need to be intelligent risks.”They agreed that the effective exercise of social and political acumen by the leader would support success in this area. In particular, they emphasized the need for leadership development to recognize the intertwining nature of the exercise of social and political acumen.