Article

Around the Fishing Net:

Leadership Dynamics for
Change in an American
International School

Educational Management
Administration & Leadership
38(5) 625643
The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/1741143210373736
emal.sagepub.com

Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho and Maenette Benham

Abstract
This study explored the active involvement of school and community members investing in
leadership dynamics for change, especially considering the increasingly globalized world and the
importance of preparing globally minded citizens. To explore how educators and leaders work to
foster dynamic learning experiences in a highly mobile global context, we studied leadership
dynamics in kindergarten through secondary American international schools environments. We
inquired, What kinds of leadership dynamics may be found in international schools that further
inform the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning? One case
scenario is presented to illustrate how leadership in times of complexity and change may enhance
sustainable environments for teaching and learning at both local and international contexts. The
exploration culminated with a deep analysis of leadership dynamics for change, respecting the
individuals participatory power as well as the importance of collective wisdom in action.
Keywords
change, international schools, leadership dynamics, school leadership

Introduction
All of us stand around the fishing-net as equals. Sometimes one person pulls harder than another.
Sometimes a person pulls for another. Leadership is like that. Leadership moves around the circle
everyone in the circle should be treated with equal respect because everyone in the circle is a leader,
past, present, or future.
McLeod (2002)

McLeods (2002) fishing-net image refers to leadership dynamics and the development of a theory
that explains the interaction of individuals and of groups acting collectively to promote effective

Corresponding author:
Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho, University of Texas at San Antonio, COHED-ELPS, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX,
78249, USA
Email: elizabeth.murakami@utsa.edu

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processes for student learning. The purpose of this study was to observe closely leadership as a
process that, when fostered, enables collective forms of leadership and create sustainable environments for teaching and learning. To explore how school leaders work to foster learning experiences
in a highly dynamic and global context (Allen, 2002; Cambridge, 2003; Cambridge and Thompson,
2004), we studied leadership dynamics in a kindergarten through secondary (that is, K-12) American
international school environment.
Approaches to collective forms of leadership evolved from a variety of theoretical models and
frameworks developed over the past 30 years (Rost, 1991; Weick, 1979). However, schools in rapidly changing and increasingly globalized societies seem to require leadership that is distributed
and adaptable to a changing context. In this study we explored the effect on schools of the active
involvement of school members involved in leadership dynamics for change. We asked, What
kind of leadership dynamics may be found in American international schools that further inform
the field about generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning?
International schools are multiplying around the globe at an impressive rate (Brummitt, 2007),
showing both a need and demand for these types of educational services. These schools are highly
complex organizational systems with different configurations, missions and values, increasingly
drawing the attention of scholars. These schools, including American international schools, often
cater to the needs of expatriate communities, who see the school as a center for citizen and community participation, and seek it as a place for sustained students academic success (Blandford
and Shaw, 2001; Walters, 1983). Unlike national schools, whose focus is to purvey national values,
international schools often serve both host-country and international clienteles. To educate these
students as world citizens, school administrators and faculty develop programs that go beyond
national proficiencies, developing services catered to a community with diverse cultural backgrounds and expectations. Given this unique situation, a study of leadership dynamics in American
international schools was perceived to be timely and critical, especially in learning from the work
of educators in such schools.
Using a fishing-net metaphor as an ecological image of organization (Morgan, 2006), we
explored leadership dynamics in American international schools. This framework allowed for
an in-depth exploration of human behavior and psycho-dynamics of peoples engagement in an
organization (Gabriel, 1999; Hatch, 2005). In this article, we begin with a definition of leadership
dynamics, and include one American international school case scenario to illustrate the leadership
dynamics in action. Based on the case scenario and other schools we studied, our findings indicate
that a deep understanding of leadership dynamics as incremental organizational learning processes
highly contribute to successful leadership in organizations.

Defining a Framework to Study Leadership Dynamics

In this study, leadership dynamics is defined as the collective interaction of school leadership team
members in creating sustainable environments for teaching and learning. To highlight this concept,
a fishing-net model of leadership dynamics was used as the theoretical framework of this research.
The fishing-net metaphor is supported by ecological approaches to organization as living systems
(Morgan, 2006), contrasting with mechanistic approaches to the analysis of organizations.
Morgans (2006) image of the organization as an ecosystem inspired the observation of evolutions, disruptions and life-support systems (Odum, 1993; Prigogine, 1996). Morgan (2006: 66)
recognized that one of the strengths in using the metaphor of organizational ecology is that it stresses the virtue of organic forms of organization in the process of innovation [and a strong approach

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in the interpretation of] flexible, dynamic, project-oriented matrix or organic forms of organization
[rather than] mechanistic-bureaucratic ones. We recognize, however, the limitations in using
metaphors to evaluate transformational leadership theories (Yukl, 1999). Morgan himself warned
us that the use of metaphors is paradoxical, at the same time illuminating a concept while hiding
other issues. For example, even though the fishing-net metaphor conveys the idea of school initiatives as bringing everyone in the organization together for a task, individuals in an organization
present different levels of enthusiasm and engagement, and their participation maybe not be clear
to everyone involved. Nonetheless, the importance of using metaphoric approaches to the analysis
of organizations is noteworthy as they allow researchers to report organizational effectiveness on
the basis of peoples processes of development, their relationships and their influence in the organizational life cycles, how people survive these organizational pushes and, most importantly, how
people influence and are influenced by organizational tensions, individuals agendas and purpose.
We also used soft systems as a framework to observe peoples actions in the organization
(Checkland, 1981, 1999; Checkland and Scholes, 1990). Soft systems methodology perceives
situations as systemic (pertaining to a whole), especially when organizations are highly dependent on the unpredictability and richness of human behaviour (Winter, 1990: 379). In soft systems
methodology, purposeful action is the unit of analysis. By purposeful action, Checkland (1999: 2)
meant deliberate, decided, willed action, whether by an individual or by a group. This method of
inquiry provided us with an interesting shift in the study of leadership, allowing for the exploration
of leadership based on complexity and change.
These frameworks contributed to the exploration of complexity and change in leadership as a
collaborative process that, when fostered, enables the inclusion of individual expression in collective forms of leadership initiatives (Bottery, 2003, 2004; Gronn, 2002; Haeusler, 2003; Harris,
2004; Heck and Hallinger, 1999). In addition, even though studies often stress the importance
of the leaders passion, commitment and enthusiasm, these same studies may reject the existence
of other emotions, like disengagement, or anger, as equally influencing initiatives (Gabriel, 1999).
Hence, in an environment of complexity and change, American international schools offered an
appealing setting for this exploration. In the next session we provide an overview of international
schools.

Overview and Focus: International Schools

As of April 2007, 4179 schools could be found delivering an international curriculum in English,
according to the International School Consultancy (ISC) researchs databank (Brummitt, 2007;
ISC Research, 2007). The databank provides current information about international schools
worldwide and shows that the majority of international schools are presently located in Asia,
followed by Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. Interestingly, not all of these schools carry
the same educational goals (Cambridge and Thompson, 2004, Hayden and Thompson, 2000).
International education carries different ideological and pragmatic interests and interpretations
by individuals around the world, according to Cambridge and Thompson (2004). As a consequence, different schools adopt varying interpretations, missions and delivery in preparing their
students.
In this study, we considered American-sponsored elementary and secondary schools around the
globe, which in 2007 encompassed 194 schools in 135 countries (US Department of State, 2007).
The population in these schools varied from five students (Kolkata, India), to 3650 students (Singapore). The instructional programs offered in these schools are focused on preparing students to

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enter schools, colleges and universities in the USA. For this study, we visited those schools
affiliated with the International Baccalaureate (IB), which allows students to transfer schools with
a consistent IB program and philosophy. The IB program prepares students with academic rigor,
and its philosophy is holistic, focusing on intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century
(International Baccalaureate, 2008). Schools adopting this curriculum often view education as
relating to the moral development of the individual and the formation of positive attitudes
towards peace, international understanding and responsible world citizenship (Cambridge and
Thompson, 2004: 164).
Leadership in international schools is indeed dynamic, according to Blandford and Shaw
(2001), due to important characteristics influencing its leadership (Hayden and Thompson,
1996; Haywood, 2002), which include: (1) parental expectations (maybe due to cultural differences); (2) high staff and student turnover; (3) the head of schools precarious position;
(4) over-involvement and itinerant membership of board members; (5) in-country laws and educational policies; (f) the delivery of the right balance in curriculum; and (6) the head of schools relationship with the board of governors. Leadership in international schools therefore presents
multiple layers of complexity, all occurring in isolation in different countries and international
contexts. Blandford and Shaw (2001: 26) recognized that As of yet, we do not perhaps know
enough about how different types of international schools are led.
Located in host countries, these schools are locally structured as private institutions and sometimes are subject to the countries standardized educational policies. In addition, educators in these
schools are involved in culturally rich settings with two or more distinct cultural groups, that is, a
local and an international community in a highly transient environment (Bale, 1984; Vogel, 1992).
In light of their international contexts, these schools as organizations require the leadership of
teachers and leaders with professional capacity to generate and sustain a highly sophisticated curriculum (Burleigh, 1993; Welton, 2001), in unique contextual and sometimes isolated conditions.
Student mobility in international schools can be as high as 35 percent every year (Matthews,
1989). Teachers often are contracted for two-year renewable terms, and head-of-school contracts
average three- to five-year terms (Hardman, 2001). The high mobility of educators and leaders
challenges the stability and continuity of operations at these schools. Yet, despite the high turnover, it is possible to find some educators who have taught in international schools for 20 years
or longer. In relation to heads of schools, chances that they will stay longer than three years are
less than 50 percent (Howley, 1995). In fact, this statistic has caught the attention of researchers,
such as Littleford (1999), who affirmed that almost 80 percent of all heads of international schools
contracts were terminated. The causes for this phenomenon are attributed to a number of variables:
frequent changes in trustees and board chairs, trustees being mainly parents rather than community
leaders, and continuous changes in the nature of the job as determined by the board (Littleford,
1999). In addition, heads of school and other administrators have no central office to turn to for
advice (Gonzales, 1987; Harzing, 2001; Walters, 1983) or any formal mentoring systems, especially when isolated by distance from possible mentors. In fact, opportunities for professional
development for all educators in this environment are sometimes severely limited.
Brummitt (2007: 36) recognized that by their nature, change is the norm in international
schools. The administrative affairs of these schools are in many cases managed by a unique governing board composed of members of the multinational community. In fact, boards of education in
international schools have been receiving increased research attention because their political and
moral influence highly affects the school leaders performance and the campus ethos and climate

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(Caffyn, 2007; Howley, 1995). This research revealed that micro politics in international schools
may be one of the prevalent reasons for the replacement of 1278 school heads in 2006 alone
(Brummitt, 2007).
Given the foregoing statistics, we believe that a study of leadership dynamics and change in
American international schools is important to the field of educational leadership and the improvement of conditions for educator and leaders in these schools. Taking into account some of the challenges faced by educators in international schools as described here, and moving beyond mere
descriptions of the activities and structures in international schools, this study adds the educator-leaders lived experiences leading and creating sustainable environments for teaching and
learning in K-12 American international schools.

Methodology
A qualitative approach, examining the participants common and distinctive interactions, intensities, and complexities (Janesick, 2000, 2005) was used in the observation of leadership dynamics in
American international schools. The inquiry included how people make meaning of their actions,
values and beliefs when working collectively towards change. A single case from a larger study of
three campus-wide cases (Murakami-Ramalho, 2005) is used in this report to provide the reader
with some of the challenges that heads of school, teachers and parents encounter in developing
initiatives in American international schools. The larger study included three schools initiatives
(N 30) developed as exploratory case studies based on a variety of evidence (Yin, 1994), including artifacts and public records, organizational reports, direct observations and narratives constructed from in-depth and focus-group interviews. Pseudonyms were used for all participants,
institutions and country names. Schools with proven stability as organizations were chosen, which
included schools with more than 10 years of existence, documented success in the preparation of
students, stable administrative teams, an established governing board and a head of school with
more than five years of international schools experience. Within these schools, we selected
schools that were in the beginning stages of a leadership initiative implementation. Selection for
leadership initiatives included those with school wide (K-12) impact, and the involvement of multiple internal and external constituents, such as school administrators, teachers, students, parents,
business and community members. The International School of Whisperwind was one of the few
schools that met these characteristics.

School and Participants

The International School of Whisperwind has been in existence for about 30 years. The schools
affiliation with the IB and adoption of its curriculum and philosophy, and the head of schools long
experience and success working with international schools were defining factors for its selection.
The head of school provided the researchers entry for the observation of a new leadership initiative, which included multiple internal and external constituents. With the use of criterion sampling,
seven participants in the school were considered through their direct involvement and membership
in the school leadership initiative. Figure 1 provides an overview of the participants and their backgrounds. The initiative enabled participants to give a historical account of events and interactions
without a large time gap between inception and implementation.
The initiative was observed by the end of May 2004. It was important to observe the dynamics
by the end of an AugustJune school year because enough time would have elapsed between the

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Figure 1. Participants: around the table at the American International School of Whisperwind

inception and implementation and the participants working together in the initiative would be more
comfortable in their roles, more at ease with each other, and more participative in meetings. In
describing persons, places and events in the inquiry, we adhered to rigorous methodological standards to ensure that we met the criterion of fairness (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) in the examination
of individual perceptions.

Case Narrative and Ethical Considerations

The value of narrative was considered here for its power to provide participants with voice, a closer
personal account of the context with special educative values (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). The
case study approach was used to provide a portrait of the kind of leadership dynamics that might be
found in selected K-12 American international schools (Stake, 1995, 2000; Yin, 1994). This
approach permitted the construction of a snapshot with boundaries (Richardson, 1994), enabling
the researchers to isolate the case for analytical focus (Marshall and Rossman, 2006).

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The school name, participants and geographical location were masked to protect the identity of
the school and its participants. Data-collection methods included: (1) school visits to observe
the initiatives; (2) interviews with initiative participants individually and during focus groups; and
(3) examination of documents and artifacts related to the initiative, that is, communications among
members, announcements, reports and public foruMs To ensure that the groups equilibrium in
participation and interaction was maintained, observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups
were used to complement each other in the data collection.
The analysis included the leadership processes developed through individual stories, problems
and motives that surrounded the initiatives inception and implementation, as well as the steps
taken by participants in relation to the initiative. In addition, conditions that might have influenced
each initiative, such as resistance, or meanings and strategies participants described in their personal accounts were considered. Artifacts and documents complemented the interactions among
participants. The findings were drawn from the analysis and triangulation with the other cases
in the larger study. There are limitations in this case as well as the larger study related to its small
sample, and generalizations from this study are limited only to initiatives, schools and conditions
similar to those presented here.

Case Scenario: The American International School of Whisperwind

The American International School of Whisperwind is a proprietary school located in the suburb
of a large metropolitan area. Whisperwind opened over 30 years ago with 50 students. Today the
school welcomes more than 600 students aged 418. According to documents, Whisperwind
houses a medium-size population of expatriate children of about 40 nationalities and 26 languages.
The Whisperwind campus encompasses 11 acres; facilities include a stately mansion and adjacent
buildings that house classrooms, computer labs, libraries and an auditorium, surrounded by
well-manicured gardens. The city, with approximately 360,000 inhabitants, is a geographical
harbor with people of all nationalities. The diverse business and expatriate communities concentrated in the country are mirrored in the population attending this school. Nevertheless, Mrs
Shepard, the current head of school, noted that the schools demographics changed after 9/11, due
to US events:
Americans coming overseas have decreased, or if the companies have maintained the same number,
they are choosing older executives whose children already graduated, or theyre choosing executives
that are single because many American families were very sensitive after September 11 to bring young
families overseas. Theyre starting to come back, but I would say that if you talked to all the schools in
[Whisperwind], Id say that most of them experienced anywhere from 5 percent to 15 percent drop in
enrolment.

Nonetheless, according to school brochures, the citys progressive economy has attracted people of many nationalities to invest in businesses there, especially because the city of Whisperwind
is located at a convenient port of entry for businesses and product exchange. The citys inviting
economy also has contributed to the establishment of more than six American schools in the vicinity. Because expatriates in the city of Whisperwind have several educational options, the school is
challenged to deliver quality education and unique options to its constituents.
Educators new to Whisperwind noticed the influence of a global society on the school population and environment. One of the teachers commented:

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How many times can you sit down and talk to an Angolan child about whats happening in the world,
and in the evening go to the Saudi Arabian embassy and experience no alcohol and women you cannot
shake hands with? You are just blown away by some of these experiences. But then you come back
saying, Wow! I understand some of the cultural dimensions of whats going on, I understand a little
about the world. I understand about world issues better.

Whisperwind is perceived as offering an international program based on American values.

The school offers three diplomas: the American high school diploma, the IB Diploma and the
local high school diploma. Curricular programs include Advanced Placement and International
Baccalaureate courses. In addition, Whisperwind is subject to local accreditation processes.
Whisperwinds mission statement reflects the schools commitment to serving multiple cultures
and a highly mobile population:
At the American International School of Whisperwind, we encourage a positive attitude toward education and lifelong learning; provide meaningful educational experiences that enable students to
acquire and apply knowledge, concepts, and skills; help each student realize his/her academic, creative, and physical potential; provide opportunities for students to understand, appreciate and develop
sensitivity for other cultures; encourage charities; promote a partnership with parents to meet the
needs of students; and offer programs that address issues associated with a highly mobile
population.

Because Whisperwind is a proprietary school, the head of school is seen as a middle manager
(vulnerable from top-down decisions), serving under an executive director and a board of governance located in the largest of the three schools owned by the proprietary entity in other parts of
town. Teachers had little interaction with the executive director. For example, Mrs Bassett, the languages teacher, who had served the school for more than 26 years, did not recall ever being visited
by or even talking to the executive director.

School Culture and Climate

Behind the peaceful gardens at Whisperwind, the school community was healing. Faculty and
staff familiar with the history of Whisperwind claimed that people still harbored intense feelings
and avoided talking about the head of school who had been asked to leave after serving the
institution for almost 20 years. The well-liked head of school, his wife (a teacher at the school)
and their son (a high school student at the time) were asked to leave, for undisclosed reasons.
The head of school later filed a lawsuit against the school, thereby dividing the community,
causing many teachers to resign, and leaving the remaining ones confused and bitter. In the four
years since that episode, Whisperwind had hired two other heads of school, but both had been
unsuccessful at alleviating the survivors sense of grief and loss; thus the disengagement and
resistance of faculty and staff grew deeper. Now, six years after the event, a third head of
school, Mrs Shepard, in her second year in this position, had begun implementing a schoolwide strategic plan.
Aware of the schools recent history, Mrs Shepard systematically involved both new and
senior (long-term) teachers and coordinators from different divisions of the school to form
a steering committee (see Figure 1). Ms Basset, for example, was forthcoming in providing
her input because she had been at the school for 26 years. Also included was Mr Bernard,

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who had been at the school for 22 years. Both Mr Bernard and Ms Basset would provide a
historical account of episodes that had gone wrong at Whisperwind. Symbolically, this
affirmed the importance of school history and the need to acknowledge that something had
gone wrong, so that the healing process could begin in earnest, and new direction might grow
from it.

Initiative and Leadership Dynamics

Mrs Shepard relied on the expertise of the steering committee, which would meet monthly to
oversee the strategic plan. My idea behind the concept of the steering committee, which generally
goes with accreditation, was that we needed a small group to be able to coordinate the work
produced by the general meetings. Around the table (Figure 1), the steering committee gathered
to talk about the strategic plan. Before engaging in the initiative, all participants stressed that
they did not want to talk about past incidents. However, it became apparent from their frequent
references to past episodes that all of them thought it necessary to reopen the wound so that
Mrs Shepard would be aware of how it had affected themthey had to retell their story. Ms Corgi
and Mr Welsh used a ship metaphor to describe the result of numerous difficult incidents with
previous heads of schools:
We were a ship that was in very strong waters, and a lot of people would not accept just anybody as a
new school head. And you cannot change a ship by simply changing the school head. And that was a
problem because we had too much history floating around. The rumbling and the after flow was still
there.

Mrs Shepard, in fact, had learned about the school communitys feelings before she accepted
the superintendence. Resistance was the word the hiring board used when describing the school
climate to Mrs Shepard. To reach the entire community, Mrs Shepard would have to involve everyone in reshaping the school culture. Upon her arrival, Mrs Shepard talked to several teachers. One
of them, Mr Lakeland, who was in his second year at the school, told her he believed he was being
negatively affected by the resistant culture in the school when implementing innovative teaching
and learning strategies. Ms Terrier, conversely, was enthusiastic about Mrs Shepards arrival, and
believed that it presaged new and better times for Whisperwind. Parents and other community
members were divided in their viewpoints; some knew the schools recent history with regard
to the heads of school, whereas some of the newer families were confident that Mrs Shepard was
conducting things differentlyshe seemed genuine. At the suggestion of certain members
around the table, Mrs Shepard decided to involve all staff members in developing a strategic plan
by asking for everyones input during faculty meetings throughout the year. The process was initiated in the school years first general session in September. Mrs Shepard reflected:
This is the first time that Ive ever done a strategic plan where I invited every single member from the
stafffrom the security personnel to the principal. Ive written every single thing that every person
said, and had it fed back to them, and did not leave anybodys opinion out. I cannot tell you the amount
of work it wasit was absolutely unbelievable.

To begin formulating the strategic plan, each faculty and staff member was asked to indicate
What was the most important change that could improve the school in the areas of curricula,

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communications, facilities and school members (including the faculty) well-being? They were to
write their suggestion on a piece of paper but were not required to identify themselves. Faculty and
staff were hesitant to provide suggestions during the first meeting. They perceived this as a pointless exercise, especially for a head of school who might not even last long enough to fulfill their
promises. Mrs Shepard insisted that everyone contribute their ideas, and pleaded, Lets just try it,
OK? Lets just try it. During subsequent meetings, people still were reluctant to participate but
was slowly seeing some of their suggestions being implemented. How could school members trust
that Mrs Shepard had a genuine interest in improving curricula, communications, facilities and
faculty and student lives at Whisperwind?
In subsequent months, the faculty and staff gradually were getting involved in identifying areas
of concern within the various divisions of the school. However, even though people had begun participating in delineating concerns, they did not necessarily agree with how the meetings were conducted, or how the plan was being organized. Mr Lakeland talked about some school members
resistance to taking part in the initiative:
The process initiated by Mrs Shepard is cumbersome, it takes up time. People wonder if it is a waste of
time. They wonder why, for example, I as a high school teacher would have to comment on some facet
of lower school instruction or facilitiesand what do I know, what do I care?And, of course, there is
merit to that objection. But overall I would say if we were to look at it on balance, I think that Mrs
Shepards approach is fairly daring and innovative, even though admittedly inefficient. I dont think
that efficiency is her number one goal anywaybut as far as interacting with the faculty, I think Mrs
Shepard wisely and in a way reflects who she is as a human beingher humanity and her essential
sense of fairness and democracy. She really wanted input.

Reluctantly, the participants recognized that their voices were now being heard. Mr Barnard
believed this was the first time that people from the whole school had been approached to start
a project and saw the strategic plan as an initiative that was educating people to be active participants in the school:
In education sometimes the journey is what you need to learnnot the finished goal. And I think that
our strategic plan started us off on a journey. It has given us a map and Heres some ways that we can
go and change things. I dont think that the real true goal of a strategic plan is that everything on that
checklist is going to be done at the end of five years. But I think there is a process that will be taking
place between the administration and the staff and various people saying, Look, this is important,
where do we go here? How did we get here? Why did we say we wanted to do this? I think the biggest
part has been that collectively there is a voice now that has been given an avenue of expression.

Mrs Shepard said that subsequent meetings related to the strategic plan gradually became more
engaging. People were thinking more deeply about building facilities, curricular needs, professional development and especially the administration. Mr Bernard recalled that various groups
commented on each others recommendations on different issues, and that many good ideas
emerged. Mrs Shepard indicated that maintaining a steady pace was important in trust-building:
I learned that you have to keep the momentum moving, that you have to get the right balanceif you
move too fast, youre going to have to go backwards, and if you move too slow youll never get people
on board. So for me, it was a matter of pacing and knowing how to work with people when they feel that
they have input. And they feel all along the line that they have input. I learned most about pacing and

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feeling how people will react and be willing to be flexible and say, Okay, youve got a point. Lets
slow down, and lets analyse this.

Nonetheless, the faculty and staff were aware of the organizational hierarchy limiting Mrs
Shepard in making decisions because she served under an executive director and a board of governance. Even though Mrs Shepard represented a bridge between the schools needs and the executive director, the faculty and staff could not forget the traumatic experiences in the past or trust
that the new head of school was a stable presence in the school. That tension made them reluctant
to engage in new school activities. Mr Bernard attested: Mrs Shepard is trying to do a very good
job and trying to be open, be friendly, and do everything that she can, but in the back of us old
timers minds there is still somebody above her who could go, bang!
For the first time, Ms Corgi thought things were not being changed solely for changes sake. The
school is much calmer, she affirmed. Finally the waters have started to calm again, and we are quite
steady. There are still odd peaks, but from my perspective I feel that were going in the right direction.
The Whisperwind case displayed a social and transformative process in terms of leadership
dynamics. The dynamics included important features such as the power of individual participation,
intense negotiations stemming from individual commitments, conciliation during these negotiations, and a collective wisdom in the decisions. In the next section we develop a thematic analysis
of the case using the fishing-net conceptual model of leadership dynamics.

Around the Fishing Net: Findings on Leadership

Dynamics for Change
In this study we observed systemic cycles of purposeful action in schools, and the dynamics related
to multiple social dimensions in leadership through a non-static and organic nature. To more
closely analyze the dynamics in action, we prompted a fishing-net metaphor, which allowed for
an understanding of a group of people engaging in purposeful action. In the examination we valued
decentralized and less bureaucratic systems as organizational structures (Gronn, 2002; Spillane
et al., 2001) that accompany the fast contemporary trends of students and families living overseas.
The fishing-net metaphor was used as a model of shared purpose requiring individual participation
and commitment to improve the context of student learning (see Figure 2).
In a fishing-net metaphor, sometimes one person pulls harder than another, [and] sometimes a
person pulls for another, added McLeod (2002: 10). We perceived the negotiated tension in the
pulling and pushing of individuals as the necessary energy that created sustainable teaching and
learning for students. In the case of Whisperwind, power relations were evident in the tensions
described by the people pushing or pulling the fishing net in order to focus on a strategic plan. The
dynamics were enriched by the participants levels of participation and sometimes even resistance
to the initiative, demonstrating how leadership was organic and alive. As Morgan (2006: 338)
highlighted, theories in organization and management illustrated through metaphors allow us to
see, understand, and imagine situations. The fishing-net metaphor provided us with an insight
of the dynamics of people at Whisperwind.
This studys findings reveal critical elements of individual and group interdependence in schools
as organizations and an expansion in the theories that examine leadership in American international
schools. In our larger study of American international schools we found that a pattern of continuous
change and transition was evident not only among the students and their families, but among the educators as well. Due to the high turnover of educators and administrators, we raised questions based on

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Figure 2. A Fishing-Net Model of Leadership Dynamics for Change

leadership issues of school sustainability, especially when examining the behavior of educatorleaders in the face of challenges encountered while working in complex and uncertain environments.

Environmental Influence on the Development of Organizational Initiatives in Schools

Fishing depends on an environmental alignment, like the climate and the tides. The American
international school of Whisperwind provided an interesting scenario in which the individuals in
the organization needed to be aligned so that the school culture and climate could be restored.
Cultural aspects influenced this cases management strategies (Harris et al., 2004). However,
Whisperwinds case scenario focused less on the schools international aspect, and more on the
internal organizational environment as hindering the adoption of new initiatives. Morgan (2006:
68) advised that when considering organizations as organisms, it is assumed that there should be
a state of unity where everyone is pulling together. Even though this is not often realistic, in

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the case of Whisperwind, the school needed to realign its members in order to move forward
into activities that would bring common purpose in creating environments conducive to teaching and learning. This theoretical consideration has been expanded through contingency theories
and the observation of organizational health and development (Donaldson, 2001; Lawrence
and Losrch, 1967). Therefore, the organic forms of organization in the process of innovation
(Morgan, 2006: 68) were identified, especially the fit between the organizational environment
and its members.
At Whisperwind, Mrs Shepard identified a situation calling for action, and she used a purposeful
activity to address it. The purposeful action was the object of our analysis of leadership dynamics.
Through a series of school wide meetings for strategic planning, which were met with much resistance, Mrs Shepard provided the avenue for individual voices to be heard and specific school needs
to be addressed. The strategic plan focused on curricula, communications, facilities, and faculty
student/ community well-being. As Winter (1990: 382) indicated, in soft systems methodology,
analysis of the constraints of the situation faced by its members was of utmost importance in
understanding leadership dynamics. As the school was in the early stages of change, Mrs Shepard
understood that school members needed to feel stability and trust before adopting any changes
(Noer, 1993). At Whisperwind, people needed to express their emotions first. It required a deep
understanding of the peoples feelings and history of the school, as well as their needs and dreams;
an understanding of the organizational environment.

Individuals Influencing Organizational Initiatives

Using a fish net requires that everyone holds the net and move towards purposeful action. Gabriel
(1999) highlighted that each individuals approach to the organization is different, and participation
in organizations is dependent on the individuals psychological character, as well as the individuals
ability to relate to others. He (1999: 79) also contended that organizations are constructs that carry
symbolic resonances, comprising the several individual psychological characters. At the core of the
way in which different individuals relate to organizations is emotion, affirmed Gabriel (1999: 80),
which can range from loyalty, commitment, responsibility, and pride, to fear, contempt, and hate.
At Whisperwind, some educators developed dissociative sociocultural patterns (Blase and
Anderson, 1995), especially in the micro politics of teacher-administrator relations. Long-serving
teachers provided an account of past historical events at Whisperwind and in many ways helped
Mrs Shepard reshape the organizational culture. Nevertheless, many Whisperwind school members
carried negative micro political reactions due to issues related to undisclosed early administrative
decisions. As a result, they chose to protect themselves from administrative requests for participation.
Blase and Anderson, in fact, emphasize that negative micro-political reactions in schools are aggravated in situations in which school administrators are seen as ineffective.
As an effective head of school, Mrs Shepard therefore needed to address the resistance of school
members before getting them involved in any initiatives, a fact that was even mentioned during her
hiring. Without addressing these unresolved issues, individuals in the organization were not ready to
contribute collectively to school initiatives. School members needed time to grieve and to reflect on
the purpose of schooling. Mrs Shepard highlighted the importance of nurturing baby steps toward
the planning, development, and implementation of the strategic plan, recognizing the momentum
and keeping the momentum going. She added, You have to get the right balanceif you move too
fast, youre going to have to go backwards, and if you move too slow youll never get people on
board. Mrs Shepard focused on the human side of change, fundamental to their future successes

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or failures, indicating that building trust and developing commitment and collective responsibility
among school members were the key first steps to moving the organization forward.

Individuals and their Relationships: Emotional and Life Cycles in Organizations

As soon as positive fishing conditions are identified, there is some discussion as to which way to
go, and how to proceed. The emotional cycle that created much tension among participants and
school stakeholders was perceived as a challenge in the negotiation of increased participation and
buy-in of all members into the new strategic plan. Attention to the tensions and complexities
among individuals in organizational life cycles is, in fact, important in any study of leadership,
according to Leithwood and Jantzi (1990). So, at Whisperwind, the organizational life cycle
included the staff members feelings of betrayal. Until their grief was addressed and negotiated,
some of the educators and community members refused to hold the fishnet. Those that agreed
to hold the net maintained a purposeful tension, while Mrs Shepard concentrated her efforts on unifying school members in order to bring about change.
Similarly, the core leadership team members around the table at Whisperwind had to lay aside
their hurts and egos, and embrace a process that required them to be open to alternative ideas and
listen without hidden agendas (Gabriel, 1999). Just as the fishermen work together, pushing and
pulling the net in ways that make sense and move them toward their catch, the core leadership team
were pulling and pushing in order to balance their individual agendas and programmatic needs in
order to reach a collective agreement to build leadership capacity (Johnson and Johnson, 2003).
An important consideration in bringing about successful change in international schools is the
fact that the development of initiatives is dependent on a high turnover of staff. Therefore,
the interval from inception to implementation and sustainability of an initiative depends largely
on the pace with which initiatives are developed. At Whisperwind leadership capacity, which is
both a social and a transformative process (Heller and Firestone, 1995; Lambert, 2005), was slowly
being built through a sense of collective responsibility toward the work of schooling. It took some
time to involve participants in the leadership team to no longer focus on who was maneuvering the
fishing net, but to be attentive to the fishing activity itself. Only then, they could motivate others
into collective intent and action.

Organizational Learning
Fishing with a fishing net requires collective learning. In order to create change, leadership capacity depended on the development of organizational learning at Whisperwind. Organizational learning requires that all members of the school systemstudents, teachers, staff, board members and
community partnerswork intentionally and visibly while learning with one another in an open
and transparent manner (Checkland and Poulter, 2006; Harris, 2004; Limerick et al., 1998). To
achieve generative levels of participation and interdependence (Giles, 2006; Leithwood and Louis,
1999; Mitchell and Sackney 2000), the strategic plan as a purposeful action for change seemed to
be the right opportunity to enable school members to function collectively.
Organizational learning requires that participants learn enough to make changes to policies, procedures and practices that define how the school structure operates (Harris, 2004; Hatcher, 2005). At
Whisperwind, organizational learning was occurring through trust-building activities. Keys to the
adoption of this initiative were the long-serving educators, who inspired other members to refocus
their emotions on new energies for school improvement. In the process of building alliances, when a

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group acquires the know-how associated with its ability to carry out its collective activitiesthat
constitutes organizational learning, attested Cook and Yanow (1996: 438).

Conclusion
When the tides are favourable and the fish are running, fishermen prepare. Working together, they
discuss each step of their process to ensure a healthy catch. At the appointed time, each responsible
for a part of the fishing net, they enter the sea. They stretch their nets as they move cautiously into the
waves. The net must have both adequate tension and slack. Their purpose is clear, and hopes are high as
they skilfully manoeuvre the net, which results in a good catch that will provide for all of their families.
(McLeod, 2002)

McLeods (2002) fishing-net metaphor helped in the examination of leadership dynamics in

schools. The metaphor helped us understand the interaction of individuals and of groups acting
collectively to promote effective processes for student learning. After analyzing the case of the
American international school of Whisperwind (and similar international schools in the larger project), we concluded that in order to build an effective alignment of purpose and intent multiple
layers of complexity must be recognized.
Recognizably, educators in schools are individuals from different backgrounds, upbringing and
expertise. When working together, these individuals present interesting compositions influencing
the organizational culture. The fishing-net metaphor showed that people working together bring
with them their personal histories, identities, and fears and emotions, which can be challenged and
triggered in workplace situations.
Individuals around the table at Whisperwind revealed strong emotions and personal agendas.
Their emotions revealed instances of disengagement, and reactions such as micro politics (Gabriel,
1999), which had to be negotiated before any organizational initiatives could be implemented.
These negotiations were important in further generating healthy organizational-level interactions,
and leadership capital.
While observing the group members interdependence, we found that school members were
simultaneously developing individual and collective capacities to plan, create and implement a
new initiative. Initial chaos and micro-political interactions were recognized as a positive part
of this process and identified in a number of other cases in local and international schools. Change
seemed to be dependent on the stakeholders identification of the purpose of schooling. First they
had to abandon individual fears to later focus on collective and purposeful activities. The isolation
of the international school community on foreign soil in fact can help or hinder the collective work
of educator-leaders. Of utmost importance was the respect give to all participants, in which every
person has a role and each role is important to the whole (Benham and Mann, 2003: 144). This is
especially true when an expatriate community works toward creating sustainable spaces for
dynamic teaching and learning.
The short life cycle of heads of school, coupled with the short life cycles of teachers, students
and families, posed a threat to generating sustainable environments for teaching and learning in
American international schools. The head of school has limited chances in developing significant
and sustainable initiatives when teachers stay for just a short period of time (Hardman, 2001), especially knowing that his or her job stability is also at stake. Moreover, if the heads of schools are
replaced at the same speed as teachers (Littleford, 1999) they can do little to influence the stability
and sustainability of these schools.

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Nonetheless, the turnover of educators in international schools, which at first appeared to be a

barrier to change, began to take on new meaning in this study. Building and sustaining leadership
capacity to create change in international schools depend greatly on individuals who have the competence to recognize emotions in organizations and passion to solve teaching and learning challenges. Purposeful action is successful when those involved generate new and deep learning
about the issues they confront.
We recognize that metaphors create insights but they are also problematic as they distort and
have limitations. The limitations in the fishing-net metaphor may create the illusion that people
at Whisperwind were collectively agreeing with the strategic plan, when, in reality, the dynamics
was not as idyllic. Nevertheless, the fishing-net metaphor in this case helped us examine the environment in which this group of people was operating revealing their vulnerabilities within the organizational culture. Our challenge was to document these dynamics in order to understand the
complexities and the learning that occurs with individuals in creating meaningful action in
organizations.
The fishing-net metaphor contributed to furthering our understanding of leadership dynamics in
organizations and the implementation of initiatives in American international schools. Leadership
dynamics in international schools can reveal valuable self-renewing processes that include continuous learning to build vital leadership capital. We perceive our contribution as an invitation for
future researchto continue to observe processes that may appear messy and chaotic at first, but
that may contain valuable learning lessons for the sustainable improvement of schools.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Corrie Giles, PhD, for his thoughtful review and suggestions for this
manuscript.

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Biographical Notes
Elizabeth Murakami-Ramalho is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Dr
Murakami worked in American international schools for 14 years. She now teaches graduate-level
courses. Her research focuses on urban and international education, including a critical examination of organizational learning and ecology, leadership dynamics, globalization, hybrid identities/
communities, social justice, race, and gender.
Maenette Benham is a professor in and Dean of the Hawaiinui
akea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawaii-M
anoa. She began a 15-year pre- K-12 education career teaching K/1,
3/4 and 7-12 (California, Texas and Hawaii). She joined the College of Education faculty at
Michigan State University in January of 1993, where she built a strong base of inquiry that centers
on: the nature of engaged and collective educational leadership; the wisdom of knowing and praxis
of social justice; the meaning and value of systems knowledge; and the effects of educational and
social policy on vulnerable communities.

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