Effective leadership starts with a desire to make a difference,
and equally requires the completion of a variety of duties
that in turn elicit a range of emotions. This article reports
on a research study that investigated key emotions
experienced and reported by four Physical Education
leaders. Leadership within secondary schools occurs mostly
through carrying out the Head of Department or Head of
Faculty role, both of which will normally involve overseeing
the implementation of Physical Education, Health
Education, and in many cases, Outdoor Education. Guided
by pre-planned questions, the study involved conducting
semi- structured interviews with four Physical Education
Heads of Department. The data collected were analysed and
interpreted using qualitative thematic data analysis. Two
distinct themes revealed contrasting emotional experiences
that were consistently reported by all four leaders. The
results indicated that leaders experienced negative
emotions elicited by professional tasks, but that they also
experienced positive emotions when performing tasks that
involved staff care. Leaders indicated how their preparation
for, and implementation of activities fostering staff care,
were important contributors to their job satisfaction.
Through executing such deeds, the leaders showed their
commitment to maintaining positive socio-professional
relationships, and also reported behaviours consistent with
high levels of Emotional Intelligence in conjunction with
being motivated to develop staff both professionally and
personally. The study found that leaders ‘live’ the curriculum
as they believed that this was important in creating personal
authenticity