Constructivist leadership, defined as the "reciprocal learning processes that enable participants in a community construct meaning towards a shared purpose" (Lambert, 1998, p. 17), defies the traditional conception of leadership. While traditional leadership is often limited to individuals with specific traits who occupy roles of power and authority, constructivist leadership offers a fluid and dynamic notion of leadership that transcends personalities and roles. In fact, within the model of constructivist leadership, all participants within the school community - principals, teachers, administrators and students -- possess the capacity and responsibility to contribute to the well-being of their schools. Essentially, the power and authority of traditional leadership are distributed to the multiple stakeholders, which shift in accordance with the specific tasks and needs (Lambert, 1998, 2002; Lambert & King, n. d.).
What is central to this concept of leadership is the importance of reciprocal learning processes. The leadership is exercised by a group of participants who are continuously engaged in an ongoing process of dialogue and critical self-examination. As a result, the participants are improving themselves and one another at the same time, in their bid to achieve their collective organizational objectives (Lambert & King, n. d.).
Based on these insights about constructivist leadership, it is evident that this model is a radical departure from the rigid organizational hierarchy that is typically associated with schools. In order to exercise this form of leadership, all the stakeholders will have to be willing to relinquish their traditional perspectives about their roles and functions and overcome their differences with one another for the greater good of the school community. The entrenchment of the organizational hierarchies and the traditional division of labor thus makes constructivist leadership a highly contr...