Breakout Session 2 - 13th May at 2:05 - 2:50
Ka mua, ka muri: Looking Back to See Forward — A Developmental Model of Leadership Communication Using Motivating Language Theory and AI
| Presenter/s: | Toby Holmes Liz Hollingworth Paul Erickson |
| Type: | Research Paper |
| Keywords: | Motivating Language Theory, Leadership Communications, Artificial Intelligence |
Abstract
In educational leadership, communication is central to how leaders shape culture, support staff, and navigate uncertainty. Drawing on the whakataukī ka mua, ka muri (“walking backward into the future”), this session connects research on leadership talk to a new model grounded in Motivating Language Theory (MLT) and AI-enabled simulation.
The presentation starts by honoring four decades of research that have evolved into the three dimensions of motivating language — Direction-Giving, Empathy, and Meaning-Making — and examines how these communication forms have influenced clarity, belonging, and understanding in schools (Sullivan, 1988; Mayfield, Mayfield & Kopf, 1993; Holmes, 2012; Mayfield & Mayfield, 2015, 2018).
Using data from 8–10 actual principals, we explore communication patterns that persist today and identify challenges such as overreliance on directive talk and underdevelopment of relational practices. We then introduce a developmental model generated through AI simulation of 100 leader profiles, enabling a complete mapping of eight MLT typologies (Holmes, 2026; Holmes & Parker, 2019).
This approach reveals diagnostic information and prescriptive pathways for leaders across sectors to strengthen their practice. The session blends research, reflection, and interactive mapping activities to leave attendees with a renewed sense of hope and agency as communicative educational leaders.
Biography
Toby Holmes Liz Hollingworth Paul Erickson
Dr. William T. “Toby” Holmes is an assistant professor in educational leadership at Kansas State University. He is leading researcher in the field of Motivating Language Theory and leadership communications. He is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a board member of the AERA Research on the Superintendency SIG. He is a long-time international member of NZEALS and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice (JELPP).
Dr. Liz Hollingworth is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Iowa and the Director of the Center for Evaluation and Assessment. Her research focuses on issues of equity in labor markets for school leadership, best practices in principal preparation, research on the superintendency, program evaluation in schools, and student assessment. She is currently the Chair of the Research in the Superintendency Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Dr. Paul Erickson is an adjunct professor at Kansas State University and the Director of Secondary Schools at Buhler Public Schools in Buhler, Kansas, USA. He is a former recipient of the Kansas Principal of the Year Award. Dr. Erickson is interested in personalized learning, professional learning networks, micro-credentialling, and connected leadership for principals.