Exploring high-performing, effective leaders, and the high-performance environments they create: Constructing a framework to improve leadership in further education

To address calls from industry regulators regarding the need to improve leadership in the Further Education (FE) sector in the UK, we considered the lived experiences of those perceived as high-performing, effective leaders (n = 17) in different industry sectors with a view to developing an evidence-base that could be transferred to the FE sector. Through semi-structured interviews that were subsequently analysed using experientially orientated reflexive thematic analysis, characteristics of high-performing, effective leaders were categorised into three themes: personal, interpersonal, and professional. Additionally, education and ongoing professional development, experiential learning, and significant others were identified as key mechanisms that affected leader development. High-performance environments (HPEs) were conceptualised as being context informed yet underpinned by a person-centred philosophy, where individuals’ basic psychological needs are satisfied to the extent that they can perform consistently and achieve their objectives. To develop and maintain an HPE, participants indicated the importance of several factors including clear communication of the organisation’s vision and strategy. Our research adds to the extant understanding of high-performing, effective leaders and HPEs in a way that can be contextualised and used to inform key processes within the FE sector.