This study examines the degree to which senior executive members of a school’s decision-making team (senior management team and board of directors) are aligned on fundamental principles of school strategy. Our study is based on a conceptual framework of strategic leadership as it applies in an Australian independent school context. We also examine the differences between the senior management team and board of directors based on top management team (TMT) tenure heterogeneity, and how these differences account for TMT associations with school strategy. Implications for research and practice complete the study. The terms top management team, senior management team, and senior leadership team are used interchangeably in this article.
CrowneDPMarloweD (1960) A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology24: 349–354.
9.
DailyCMMcDougalPPCovinJGDaltonDR (2002) Governance and strategic leadership in entrepreneurial firms. Journal of Management28(3): 387–412.
10.
DaltonDRDailyCMEllstrandAEJohnsonJL (1998) Meta-anlaytic reviews of borad composition, leadership structure, and performance. Strategic Management Journal19: 269–290.
11.
DaviesB (2003) Rethinking strategy and strategic leadership in schools. Education Management and Administration31: 295–312.
12.
DaviesB (2004) Developing the strategically focused school. School Leadership and Management24(1): 11–27.
13.
DaviesBJDaviesB (2004) Strategic leadership. School Leadership and Management24(1): 29–38.
14.
DaviesBJDaviesB (2006) Developing a model for strategic leadership in schools. Educational Management Administration and Leadership34(1): 121–139.
15.
DessGG (1987) Consensus on strategy formulation and organizational performance: Competitors in a fragmented society. Strategic Management Journal8: 259–277.
16.
DunckleyMMitchellJ (2012) Whole new board game for private schools. Weekend Australian Financial Review29/30: 48–49.
17.
EacottS (2011) Leadership strategies: re-conceptualizing strategy for educational leadership. School Leadership and Management31(1): 35–46.
18.
ElenkovDSJudgeWWrightP (2005) Strategic leadership and executive innovation influence: an international multi-cluster comparative study. Strategic Management Journal26: 665–682.
19.
FinkelsteinSHambrickDC (1996) Strategic Leadership: Top Executives And Their Effects. Minneapolis, MN: West Publishing.
20.
HackmanJ (1990) Groups That Work (And Those That Don’t): Creating Conditions For Effective Teamwork. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
21.
HambrickDCMasonPA (1984) Upper echelons: the organization as a reflection of its managers. Academy of Management Review9: 193–206.
22.
HambrickDPettigrewA (2001) Upper echelons: Donald Hambrick on executives and strategy. Academy of Management Executive15(3): 36–44.
23.
HouseRJAdityaR (1997) The social scientific study of leadership: quo vadis?Journal of Management23: 409–473.
24.
HrebiniakLGSnowCC (1982) Top management agreement and firm performance. Human Relations35: 750–759.
25.
JacksonS (1992) Consequences of group composition for the interpersonal dynamics of strategic issue processing. In: ShrivastavaPHuffADuttonJ (eds) Advances in Strategic Management Volume 8. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 345–382.
26.
JacksonSFarndaleEKakabadseA (2003) Executive development: meeting the needs of top teams and boards. Journal of Management Development22(3): 185–265.
27.
JamesLRDemareeRGWolfG (1993) rWG: an assessment of within-group interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology78: 306–309.
28.
JensenMZajacE (2004) Corporate elites and corporate strategy: how demographic preferences and structural position shape the scope of the firm. Strategic Management Journal25(6): 507–524.
29.
JungDISosikJJ (2002) Transformational leadership in work groups: the role of empowerment, cohesiveness, and collective efficacy on perceived group performance. Small Group Research33(3): 313–336.
30.
KaplanRSNortonDP (1992) The balanced scorecard: measures that drive performance. Harvard Business ReviewJan/Feb: 71–79.
31.
KaplanRSNortonDP (1993) Putting the balanced scorecard to work. Harvard Business ReviewSep/Oct: 134–147.
32.
KaplanRSNortonDP (1996) The balanced scorecard: translating strategy into action. Boston: MA, Harvard Business Review Press.
33.
KaplanRSNortonDP (2000) The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive In The New Business Environment. Boston: MA, Harvard Business Review Press.
34.
KaplanRSNortonDP (2008) The Execution Premium; Linking Strategy To Operations For Competitive Advantage. Boston; MA: Harvard Business School Press.
35.
LandD. (2002). Local school boards under review: their role and effectiveness in relation to students’ academic achievement. Review of Educational Research72(2): 229–278.
36.
LeBretonJMSenterJL (2008) Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods11: 815–852.
37.
LovasBGhoshalS (2000) Strategy as guided evolution. Strategic Management Journal21(9) 875–96.
38.
LüdtkeORobitzschA (2009) Assessing within-group agreement: a critical examination of a random-group resampling approach. Organizational Research Methods12(3): 461–487.
39.
McCormickJBarnettKAlaviSBNewcombeG (2006) Board governance of independent schools: a framework for investigation. Journal of Educational Administration44(5): 429–445.
40.
MontgomeryCA (2012) How strategists lead. McKinsey Quarterly (July 1–7). Available at: www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
41.
O’ReillyCACaldwellDFChatmanJALapizMSelfW (2010) How leadership matters: the effects of leaders’ alignment on strategy implementation. Leadership Quarterly21(1): 104–113.
42.
PitcherPSmithA (2001) Top management team heterogeneity: personality, power and proxies. Organization Science12(1): 1–18.
43.
RanftALO’NeillHM (2001) Board composition and high-flying founders: hints of trouble to come?Academy of Management Executive15(1): 126–138.
44.
SarrosAMSarrosJC (2007) The first 100 days: leadership challenges of a new CEO. Educational Management Administration and Leadership35(3): 349–371.
45.
SarrosJCSarrosAM (2011a) Five years on: leadership challenges of an experienced CEO. School Leadership and Management31(3): 235–260.
46.
SarrosJCSarrosAM (2011b) Strategic leadership through the balanced scorecard: a working case study. Education, Economy and Society. Paper presented at the 3rd Paris International Conference, 20–23 July.
47.
SemlerSW (1997) Systematic agreement: a theory of organizational alignment. Human Resource Development Quarterly8(1): 23–40.
48.
SivasubramaniamNMurrayWAvolioBJungD (2002) A longitudinal model of the effects of team leadership and group potency on group performance. Group and Organization Management27(1): 66–96.
49.
WestphalJDZajacE (1995) Who shall govern? CEO/board power, demographic similarity, and new director selection. Administrative Science Quarterly40(1): 60–83.
50.
WiersemaMBantelK (1992) Top management team demography and corporate strategic change. Academy of Management Journal35: 91–121.
51.
ZahraSAGeorgeG (2002) Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review27: 185–203.
