Perceptions of School Leaders Regarding the Benefits of Leadership Dashboards

Abstract

Implementation of continuous improvement structures in education continues to expand as demands for accountability increase in response to ongoing educational reform (Frickx, 2015). Park, Hironaka, Carver, and Nordstrum (2013) found the systemic nature of educational organizations often inhibits these organizations from successfully implementing continuous improvement structures characteristic of high-reliability organizations. Specifically, system leaders in educational entities are ill-equipped to lead system improvement due to poor preparation and lack of focus on specific implementation drivers (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2014). This has resulted in a need for educational system leaders to develop a leadership dashboard similar to dashboards created by Jack Stack (2013) and utilized by his Great Game of Business. Due to the myriad of roles school administrators play in the daily operations and systemic improvement of schools, it is vital administrators be equipped with a systematic tool to focus leadership behaviors on needs specific to a continuous improvement plan (SIP) or departmental improvement plan (DIP). This study involved examination of the perceptions of Missouri educational system leaders regarding the impact of dashboards on their efficacy to promote systemic improvement of the systems under their direction. Interview responses were collected and analyzed using coding methods to identify common words, phrases, and themes. The findings of this study revealed leadership dashboards are beneficial in building leadership capacity to promote system improvement. Educational leaders should be prepared to investigate the use of leadership dashboards to build leadership efficacy necessary in leading highly systemic educational organizations.