From Hierarchy to Network

Reimagining Educational Leadership

By: Jamila Maliha and Alison Gaymes San-Vicente 

In educational leadership, standard administrative models often lean heavily on rigid, top-down hierarchies. Power is centralized at the apex, information is closely guarded, and systemic change is expected to follow a strict linear path. 

In this discussion, we speak with Chief Education Officer Alison Gaymes San-Vicente and Superintendent of Education Jamila Maliha at the Waterloo Region District School Board. Alison and Jamila explore a model built on network-based leadership. Grounded in collective decision-making, shared vulnerability, and relational care, they discuss how moving from an egocentric hierarchy to a living ecosystem opens possibilities for genuine transformation. 

Theme 1: Shifting from Positional Power to Collective- Knowledge-Based Leadership

Q: To begin, how does a network mindset differ from a traditional hierarchy in your day-to-day practice?

Alison: It starts with rethinking how we handle power, how we choose to hold it. In traditional hierarchies, authority is tethered to a title; in our work, the challenge is to deliberately democratize that space.. Rather than relying on positional power, we attempt to ground our impact on mutual respect for each other’s knowledge. 

This is challenging because we operate within capitalist structures where ego-centered leadership, rooted in force, fear, right-wrong and competitive win-lose models, is constantly validated as the path to effectiveness.. But my knowledge isn’t inherently more valuable than someone else's. Everyone’s collective knowledge has to be in the space, or we cannot co-construct the new knowledge required for the best next step. We often think about Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the "more knowledgeable other" and Zaretta Hammond’s positioning of shared mental models (2015). Even if I hold more positional power, in a given moment, someone else might be the more knowledgeable other because of their unique skill set,expertise and/or lived experience. 

Jamila: The person with the most positional power has to truly believe and operate from that philosophy. Initially, that leader might begin spinning the web, creating connections that bring 

the senior team together. But the strength of the web lies in its interconnectedness, and the leader then has to move out of the centre to centre the purpose rather than the person. On a senior team, this means sharing leadership, drawing on one another’s expertise and allowing different members to lead the work. The shared mission becomes the focal point, with each of us responsible for strengthening the connections that sustain it.

"As we learn to operate as a system versus as individuals, every leadership move or action affects everyone holding a string within that web." 

— Jamila

Theme 2: Vulnerability, Metacognition, and Unlearning Hierarchical Habits

Q: Moving away from top-down control sounds ideal, but what are the internal challenges of leading this way?

Jamila: One of the biggest challenges is that most of us have come up through systems designed to maintain strict hierarchies. You have to consciously remind yourself that you are part of a larger ecosystem and leave your ego at the door. 

It requires ongoing metacognition: thinking about our thinking, recognizing our emotional impact on others and understanding their impact on us. It can give us energy, but it also takes energy. We have to remain aware of our responses and habits so that we don’t revert to those old hierarchical defaults. 

Alison: It requires being positioned as co-thinkers and co-learners. True learning happens in the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978), which demands that we lay our egos down. Stepping into learning, which is growth, requires us to acknowledge that there are things we don't know and be comfortable with cognitive dissonance. 

"I have to be open, as the person with the most positional power, to be wrong, to remove ego, and not to weaponize my power. I am comfortable being challenged and landing somewhere else." 

— Alison

At senior leadership levels, it is remarkably hard for people to enter that space because it requires letting go of performativity. But when you let go of that, it allows genuine collaboration to take root. 

Theme 3: Psychological Safety, Identity, and Relational Trust

Q: What conditions must be present for a leadership team to safely operate in a decentralized, networked way?

Jamila: It comes down to core values like those reflected in OCT’s Ethical Standards: care, trust, respect and integrity. Because our team prioritizes these values, I feel held in care and respected. That creates a foundation of psychological safety.

Having experienced being the only racialized person on a senior team, I know that identity and power shape how safe it feels to question, disagree or show uncertainty. On this team, the care we show one another allows me to settle into being a co-learner. I can take a risk, ask a question or make a mistake and trust that I will be met with respect. That trust makes sharing leadership possible.

Alison: We must intentionally cultivate conditions that honor the human being behind the title, moving away from compliance-driven structures toward a human-centred stance. I try to embrace the belief that when team members know their full humanity is seen, the need to shelter behind ego or territoriality shifts to risk-taking, giving us the ability to adapt, and co-construct new knowledge together.

"If I’m not grounded as a leader—mind, body, and spirit—I cannot lead. Leading with humanity can’t be underscored enough." 

— Alison

Trust is essential. To be a better leader, I want people to feel whole enough in the workplace that they can be vulnerable. 

Theme 4: Emergent Strategy and "Being Held" by the Network

Q: When crisis hits or unplannable situations arise, how does this network mindset change how the team responds?

Jamila: In a living system, when one part experiences strain, the rest of the network steps in to support it. When a tragedy recently affected a school in our district, team members immediately reached across portfolios to offer care and support to the leaders involved. No one had to wait to be asked or directed. In a traditional hierarchy, we can become accustomed to staying within our own areas of responsibility. A network mindset helps us recognize that we are 

connected and share responsibility for one another. When one of us is carrying something difficult, we know we can be held by the team.

Alison: That’s the beauty of an ecosystem—it’s built on interdependence. Someone can step back when needed because others will step in, and the work continues seamlessly. 

"When you're in a spiderweb, you're held. Network learning is about creating a space where people are held." 

— Alison