Capabilities

What is a capability?

A capability describes the knowledge and skills that empower leaders to take action and make decisions relevant to their role. There are three key capabilities for excellence identified in the Academy Leadership Excellence Framework. 

Educational leaders demonstrate excellence in their leadership of improvement when they: 

• use relevant educational and non-educational knowledge to  
• solve complex problems of teaching and learning, while   
• building relational trust with those involved.   

Resources for schools

Learning activities

 Watch the video below to learn more about the three capabilities

Listen to Distinguished Professor Emeritus Viviane Robinson explain how the three capabilities work together to support leadership excellence. 

• Download video transcript

 Reflect on your understanding of the capabilities

Use the following key questions to reflect on your understanding and use of the three capabilities.

Using educational knowledge

• How do you keep up to date with educational research and professional reading?
• When leading school improvement, or implementing changes in your school, how does this knowledge inform your decisions? How does it inform the way you explain the need for improvement in your community?
• How do you ensure that staff in your school have access to the relevant and up to date knowledge they need to lead key areas across the school?
• How do you know that leaders of learning areas in your school have the relevant knowledge of the subject content and pedagogical content knowledge to effectively lead the work? How do you support them to do so?

Solving complex problems

It is important to understand the distinction between complex and less-complex problems. Complex problems are those that cannot be solved by existing routines, or including those where routine fixes have proved ineffective. Problems are complex when there is considerable uncertainty about the path to solving them.

Look at the five stage model for complex problem solving below. How is it similar/different to how you tackle problem solving in your school? Can you see the FISO improvement cycle in this model? How is it similar or different?

Consider the model in light of your own practice and use the reflection questions below to help you think more deeply about how you approach complex problems.

1. Look at the five stage model for complex problem solving. How is it similar/different to how you tackle problem solving in your school? Can you see the FISO improvement cycle in this model? How is it similar or different?
2. How do you identify practices that are not working and gain agreement on the need for improvement?
3. How thoroughly do you inquire into the likely causes of problems before seeking solutions?
4. Do you ensure agreement about the requirements for a good solution before coming up with actual solutions? How do you allocate the responsibility and accountability for implementing and monitoring action plans?

Building relational trust

Relational trust can be defined as a type of relationship in which there is a willingness to accept risk and vulnerability because the other person is judged as being respectful, as having personal regard for others, as acting with integrity, and as competent in their role (Bryk & Schneider, 2002)

Consider the model of relational trust based on the work of Bryk & Schneider below.

1. What are the deliberate actions you take to demonstrate how you:
   • respect others
   • have personal regard for others
   • act with integrity
   • are competent in your role?
2. How do you facilitate and respond to opinions which are different to your own?
3. What opportunities are there in your school for staff to provide you or the leadership team with feedback? If received, how do you act on it? 
4. Who is someone that you really trust, what is it that makes them trustworthy? 
5. Who is someone you do not trust, what is it that makes them untrustworthy? 
6. Thinking about your answers, is there anything you think you can do to be more trustworthy?  

Integrating the capabilities

Reflect on a problem of teaching practice or student outcomes which you solved by using the three capabilities.

• What was the knowledge base you drew on? Who else contributed to the knowledge base?
• What steps or process did you use to solve the problem?
• What deliberate acts did you do to build relational trust through this period?

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