Educational Leadership – Personal Growth for Professional Development

Citation

Davies, B. (2005), "Educational Leadership – Personal Growth for Professional Development", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 269-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540510591066

This is an exceptionally good book that clearly brings together the author's experience as a headteacher and academic. Harry Tomlinson is an educationalist with deep insights into the personal development dimension of leadership. This is not your standard leadership book; instead it is a unique set of ideas, concepts and observations that comprehensively covers “the how” of building leadership abilities. With 20 chapters, this is a significant resource for practitioners, leadership developers and academics.

Initial chapters on self‐management and self‐understanding link into emotional intelligence and brain‐based learning. Novel and insightful chapters such as “Neurolinguistic programming and professional development” lead into discussions of creativity, intuition and innovation in schools. This type of coverage gives the book a fresh and new perspective on leadership development. Chapters on leadership, performance management and ethics and values add to the quality of the debate in the book. Perhaps the only two weaker chapters are those on strategy and quality that are traditional and rather uninspired.

The book finishes on a high note with chapters on the learning organisation, reengineering and, most significantly, on work life balance and planning for the future. This is a welcome addition to the literature and fills a niche in the essential reading for the field.