In some schools, middle leaders and elassroom teaehers were unable to identify any
approaehes to leadership talent retention at all (see Table 1). Although reeruitment and
retention ehallenges are likely to vary with immediate sehool eontext, respondents in this
study pereeived that job-related factors such as CPD opportunities, support, feeling valued,
experieneing a pleasant working environment and being rewarded were linked to the
possibilities of improved retention. This was eehoed by the senior LA offieer, who emphasised
job satisfaetion and assoeiated increased motivation as helping to secure staff retention.
However, perceptions of job satisfaction can change over time and this presents a challenge
to governors and ineumbent leaders seeking to stimulate retention over an extended period.
Despite a tradition of moving sehools to seek greater experience and seniority, especially if
jobs are plentiful, sehools eannot expeet those with leadership talent to eonfinue to perform
without attention to their development, reward and job satisfaetion (see Herzberg et al. 1959;
Mobley et al. 1997; Morrell et al. 2001; Muller et al. 2009; NCLSCS 2010b; Davies & Davies
2010). Overall, there was a high level of consistency amongst respondents across the phases
and contexts ineluded in the study about pereeptions of approaehes helpful to leadership
talent retention. However, the study also eonfirmed that some heads do not see themselves
as instruments of leadership talent retention at all (see Table 1). Some heads appear to eonsider
this not to be an issue in their sehool, with some indicating that attempting to retain leadership
talent 'against its will' was a deeply problematic moral dilemma. Indeed, a reeent study in
England by Rhodes et al. (2006) has also shown that heads are mindful of the moral issues