Introduction
The IB® framework is outlined by rigorous and distinct standards and practices (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020) which also include leaders’ professional and personal requirements. Specifically, within the IB® guidelines, there are dedicated sections for leadership and its essential traits, that must be integrated within each IB® school’s philosophy & mission, and daily practice.
Body
Because of their nature, the over 5.000 IB® schools across the globe require their leaders to operate effectively in trans-national and multi-cultural settings, who cannot expect to apply a single leadership model in complex and globally dispersed educational environments. In response to this essential need, the IB® has identified seven intelligences as a common ground of the IB® Leadership Pathway (Scholar’s Lab, n.d.), which help develop strong capabilities in contextual and cultural awareness (Calnin et al., 2018). When confronted with opportunities and challenges associated with managing IB® World Schools, IB® leaders will need to build and draw on these seven intelligences, channeling them in constructive and innovative ways (Calnin et al., 2018).
These intelligences describe a set of cognitive capacities that are multi-dimensional, dynamic, and evolving (Scholar’s Lab, n.d.); therefore, they are not definitive (Gerard Calnin, 2018). Namely, they are Strategic, Entrepreneurial, Reflective, Heuristic, Pedagogical, Cultural, and Relational (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2018).
The strategic intelligence is strictly related to those management skills people display when, analysing the bigger picture, they recognize the emerging trends and translate them into strategy (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2018), built around and supported by a shared collaborative organizational culture. Korac-Kakabadse et al. and Boal and Hooijberg, (as cited in Calnin et al., 2018), in fact, stress the relevance of “creating the strategy with others rather than only communicating to others”. Essentially, the strategic intelligence leads to “responding appropriately to the present, creating the future and anticipating the consequences,” argue MacGilchrist et al. (as cited in Calnin et al., 2018).
The entrepreneurial intelligence reinforces and completes the strategic one, and, in the IB® context, it is more generally conceived, hence related to a leader’s ability to direct organizations in innovative ways through the inevitable changes they face. Furthermore, internal and external educational changes demand heads to be innovative and take analytical and professional risks (Calnin et al., 2018). The attitude is eventually related to the LP attribute risk-taker, and its multi-perspective interpretations.
The importance the IB® sets on critical thinking and multiple constructivist perspectives requires its leaders to be competent at creating a school culture that places ongoing critical reflection at its core (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2018). Intuitively linked to the LP attribute reflective, the reflective intelligence is associated with the cognitive skills involved in facing new problems, ethical and cultural conflicts, and dilemmas while seeking balanced solutions (Calnin et al., 2018).
In need to make quick, prompt sensible evaluations, and adequate decisions, IB® leaders have to develop a highly systematic and conscious mental process that leads to successful solutions, called heuristic intelligence(International Baccalaureate Organization, 2018). Strategic to this capability is to rely on past experiences and techniques applied in other school settings, “recognizing similarities across different categories,” argues Csikszentmihalyi (as cited in Calnin et al., 2018).
The IB® Standards and Practices clearly state that school leaders “are expected to demonstrate pedagogical leadership aligned with the philosophy of the programme(s)” (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020). Thanks to their pedagogical intelligence, then, IB leaders have to display an extensive ability to create learning opportunities, develop mutual trust, provide resources needed, and ensure teachers’ professional growth (Calnin et al., 2018).
“Leadership is a process of influence leading to the achievement of desired purposes,” states Yukl (as cited in Bush, Bell and Middlewood, 2017). Therefore, the influence process is intrinsic to the school culture building, hence to the human relationships a leader can cultivate within the learning community. The degree to which leaders consider it crucial to create inclusive relationships based on mutual and ethical values determines the quality of the relationships (Calnin et al., 2018). From here, the term relational intelligence also used by Maak and Pless (as cited in Calnin et al., 2018) to describe a key characteristic of leaders, arguing that leadership is inextricably linked to and dependent on human relationships.
Ang et al. (as cited in Singh and Qi, 2013) define cultural intelligence (CQ) as “an individual’s capability to function and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings,” and individuals who hold a high degree of CQ are more likely capable of managing multicultural environments successfully (Keung and Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2013). The literature agrees that CQ is outlined by a multidimensional framework composed of four dimensions: Metacognitive, Cognitive, Motivational, and Behavioural (Singh and Qi, 2013). The following chart (Table 1) represents the four dimensions of cultural intelligence.
All four factors of CQ are likely to contribute to effective leadership in multicultural contexts, as research has demonstrated that they enable individuals to appreciate diversity and communicate productively in a culturally responsive manner. Additionally, CQ has been consistently described as a factor contributing to effective leadership in multicultural business contexts (Keung and Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2013); therefore, when IB® leaders engage productively with their CQ, they can succeed in creating the Third Cultural Space (Pritchard, s.d.), as shown in Figure 1.
As members of the global learning community (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2018), it is axiomatic for IB® leaders, too, to embody and exhibit the attributes of the Learner Profile® they seek to foster in their students and teachers (Calnin et al., 2018). On a more holistic level, the LP is, most importantly, the key to International Mindedness (Michael Singh, 2013); the chart below (Table 2) shows how the core elements of IM – multilingualism, intercultural understanding, and global engagement – underlie the LP attributes.
Conclusions
The IB’s stated goal is to “promote 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 Organization, 2012); therefore, when engaging with people from different cultural backgrounds and cultures, compliant IB® leaders play a vital role in exhibiting a set of values and capabilities that actively encourage intercultural understanding and respect (Gerard Calnin, 2018). The explored literature is summarily consistent: IB® leaders have to develop and engage with the seven intelligences and be committed to the LP embodiment. However, in this regard, many contributions highlight the multi-perspective interpretations of the LP, dependent on the ruling national culture. George Walker, former general director of the IB®, succinctly stated that “East is East, and West is West” (Walker, 2010) to explain how the different hemispheres may interpret, for example, the attributes of risk-takers and open-minded. Because of this obviousness, many agree that the LP should be part of IB® leaders’ affective skills-set (Gardner-McTaggart, 2019) and not interfere with its practical use in contextualized decision-making (Kidson, 2019). In his exploration of the efficacy of the LP on operational impact for school leaders, Grandner-Mc Taggart, in fact, puts in doubt how realistically the LP attributes are embedded in the leadership style and application (Kidson, 2019).
References
Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. (2017) Principales of Educational Leadership and Management. 3rd ed. London: SAGE Publications.
Calnin, G., Waterson, M., Richards, S. and Fisher, D. (2018) ‘Developing Leaders for International Baccalaureate World Schools’, Journal of Research in International Education, 17(2), pp. 99–115.
Gardner-McTaggart, A. (2019) ‘Leadership of international schools and the International Baccalaureate learner profile’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 47(5), pp. 766–784.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2012) What is an IB education? Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2018) The Learning Community. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization (UK) Ltd.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2018) Understanding Leadership, Category 3 Workshop. s.l.:© International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2020) Programme Standards and Practices. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization (UK) Ltd.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2020) Rules for IB World Schools. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
Keung, E. K. and Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. J. (2013) ‘The relationship between transformational leadership and cultural intelligence. A study of international school leaders’, Journal of Educational Administration, 51(6), pp. 836–854.
Kidson, P. A. (2019) Principales’ Perspectives on Leading International Baccalaureate Schools in Australia. PhD. University of Sydney.
Pritchard, M. (n.d.) Cultural Conflicts in Leadership and Governance [Online].
Available at: http://ibheads.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Malcolm-Pritchard-Cultural-Conflicts-in-Leadership-and-Governance.pdf
(Accessed 17 April 2021).
Scholar’s Lab (n.d.) IB Leadership Pathway [Online].
Available at: http://prism.scholarslab.org/prisms/a65744f0-99d4-11e9-a297-005056b3784e/visualize?locale=de
(Accessed 4 May 2021).
Singh and Qi, J. (2013) 21st century international mindedness: An exploratory study of its conceptualisation and assessment, Sydney: University of Western Sydney.
Walker, G. (2010) East is East and West is West. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
Photo Credits: 123rf.com_196901895
