Transforming Traditional Bureaucratic Management Practices By Employing The Collegial Leadership Model Of Emancipation

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine whether the Collegial Leadership Model of Emancipation (COLME) can serve as a conceptual framework to transform traditional bureaucratic management practices (TBMPs) in organizations such as schools. The question does arise whether a theory such as the COLME has the potency to introduce leadership change by empowering and emancipating their employees. It is a fallacy to simply assume that experience alone, in the absence of theory, will contribute to this knowledge base to develop collegial leaders. All the respondents in this exploratory qualitative study embraced collegiality to transform TBMPs in their organizations. For the positive effects to be sustained, the collegial practices need to be evolutionary and emancipatory in order to evoke the values of collegial leadership as elucidated by the findings of this study. Interviewees affirmed that the COLME provides an astute framework to develop commendable collegial leadership practices as it clearly outlines procedures to develop and use the leadership potential of all the employees in order to foster joint accountability. They acknowledged that when the principles of collegiality are flexibly applied, they contribute to the creation of a holistic milieu in which all employees are able to express themselves freely without fear of failure and thus feel that they are part of the democratic decision-making process. Evidently, a conceptual framework such as the COLME can serve as a benchmark for leadership effectiveness because organizational outcomes need to be measured against standards of excellence in meeting both employee and customer expectations.