Leadership of education psychological services: fit for purpose?

At a time of great change for educational psychology services in England, this paper reviews current theories of leadership and proposes how an integration of key aspects of these can be applied to support a self review of leadership practice, both by individual leaders and by services. The message from current theory is that in the midst of complexity and rapid change, a primary focus on the head of service is outdated; there should instead be a focus to develop the leadership capacity of the service as a whole. Key constructs considered are systems thinking, social identity, authenticity, and leadership as social construction.