Leading educational institutions in the age of chaos & complexity with quantum leadership

Abstract

Alan Watts argues, A completely predictable future is already the past. However, according to Albert Einstein, although the future is unknown and uncertain, it is still somewhat predictable. He argues that all we need to do is to look back upon the past where the seeds of the future were planted, try to comprehend the big picture and to notice the revealing patterns. Parents, students and communities are increasingly demanding their schools to exhibit high reliability at the face of an adversity and to address not only the crises that are already expected, but also to address those that cannot be foreseen (McManus et al., 2008). So, eventually, like any other organization, educational institutions understood that they can only rely on quantum leadership to successfully navigate through uncertain, volatile and very demanding environment that they have to operating in. Quantum leadership is a type of leadership guided by the defining principles of quantum physics, chaos, and complexity. This chapter is, therefore, dedicated to explain the fundamentals of quantum leadership and characteristics of quantum leaders who inspire others to thrive during periods of great change and uncertainty by drawing upon the theory of chaos and complexity. © 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.