Activation of strategic thinking of a novice manager as a factor of effective development of an educational organization

Golovko Anzhela Anatol'evna ORCID: 0009-0000-0942-5636 Head of the Department of Education of the Committee on Social Policy and Culture; Irkutsk City Administration 664025, Russia, Irkutsk region, Lenin St., 26 angelagolovko83@rambler.ru

The constant modernization of the education system of the Russian Federation is aimed at finding effective solutions for the development of this area, and therefore reflections on the criteria for the effectiveness of the development of an educational organization (hereinafter referred to as the NGO) regularly appear in the scientific literature. Any manager, even just starting out, should direct his work towards finding effective management solutions aimed at the development of an educational institution. In the context of this study, the authors consider the following educational organizations: preschool, general education, and additional education for children.

For the educational sphere, strategic management became applicable much later and concerned higher education. Here we can highlight the articles by D. L. Ostrovkin and D. G. Sandler ^{[14, 17]}, which examined the evolution of university management, noting that strategic planning is the only possible option for effective management of an academic institution. Regarding other levels of education, the concept was not considered.

Modern works in the same group include articles by Yu.V. Borodach, Yu.V. Bazaleeva ^[1], A. Z. Koberidze ^[8], E. S. Lomanovskaya ^[10], A. S. Mikayeva, K. R. Rubleva ^[11]. The dynamism of the management sphere forces researchers to turn again and again to the problems of strategic management, to look for ways to solve them, taking into account the realities of the modern world.

The second group of works is devoted to strategic thinking. The term itself was given in 1963 by General Andre Beaufre, but has not yet been used for the management field. Later, it was developed by representatives of various schools of strategic management: I. Ansoff, M. Porter, G. Mintsberg, T. Peters, and others ^{[23, 25]}.

A significant contribution to the development of the theory of strategic thinking was made by V. L. Quint, who defined 15 rules peculiar to a strategist, and also separated this type of thinking from current and operational ^[7].

Among modern Russian researchers, it is also necessary to mention N. V. Volokh ^[3], O. M. Volodko ^[2], A. A. Zhukinsky ^[6], V. F. Minnekaev ^[12], T. V. Muravyova ^[13], E. I. Parfenova ^[15]. All of them continue to develop the theory and practice of this problem, expanding the range of issues that arise in the management environment, however, the authors still do not consider this issue in relation to educational organizations.

The object of research is strategic thinking. The subject of this article is to activate the strategic thinking of a novice manager.

The purpose of the study: to analyze the activation of strategic thinking of a novice manager as a factor in the effective development of an educational organization.

The methodological basis of the research is the system-activity approach. The main research methods used were analysis, synthesis, and generalization, which allowed us to study the main works on strategic thinking.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in an attempt to rethink the phenomenon of strategic thinking from the perspective of pedagogy. For the first time, the importance of activating strategic thinking for heads of educational organizations is emphasized, which significantly affects the image of the institution and its main performance indicators.

The question of what should be considered criteria for the effectiveness of public relations is a complex one. For example, E. P. Yakimovich suggests that such criteria should include the image of the organization, a system of stimulating teaching staff, the presence of a stress management system and a system of mechanisms aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the institution ^{[22, p. 9]}. According to the researcher, the image of public organizations is built on the basis of such mechanisms. An image is an image of an organization aimed at the psychological and pedagogical impact of specific groups in the social environment. The image is a purposeful phenomenon, which means that it can be changed and created depending on the needs of the recipients of educational services. At the same time, E. P. Yakimovich emphasizes that creating a certain image boils down to developing the attributes of a public organization (advertising, the presence of an emblem, the presence of a high-quality website, etc.), as well as creating a comfortable atmosphere within the walls of the institution. The internal component of the image highlights just the specifics of the educational organization: the quality of educational services, the comfort of the educational environment, the positive style of the educational institution, the positive image of the head and staff ^{[20, p. 10]}.

The issues of the external image of an educational organization are usually clear and understandable, whereas the internal image requires a deeper analysis, since it directly depends on the human factor. One of the key elements of the internal image is the comfort of the educational environment, in particular the psychological microclimate, which is closely related to the emotional and psychological state of employees. The peculiarities of the teaching profession often negatively affect the health of teachers, as they are under constant stress. The lack of an effective stress management system leads to a number of serious consequences for the organization: reduction of personnel potential due to deterioration of workers' health, decrease in productivity, as well as loss of stability and competitiveness of the educational institution ^{[8, p. 3; 12, 13]}.

Analyzing the criteria of effectiveness, let us turn to the Decree of the Irkutsk City Administration dated 08/02/2024 No. 031-06-538/24, which adopted an approximate regulation on remuneration of employees of municipal educational organizations. Among the performance indicators of the NGO, the following criteria are noted, which make it possible to build an incentive system for managers:

- performing a municipal task;

- high-quality execution of administrative documentation at all levels;

- the use of subsidy funds for the financial support of the municipal task;

- the effectiveness of the participation of the staff and the institution in professional skills competitions, as well as students in events at various levels;

- dissemination of pedagogical experience;

- implementation of energy saving measures;

- the organization has no debts.

Among the performance indicators of NGO managers, the resolution notes:

- ensuring the protection of life and health of all participants in the educational process;

- satisfaction with the quality of services provided;

- lack of regulations from the supervisory authorities;

- timely work with the AIS "Monitoring of general and additional education", which contains information about the activities of the NGO;

- absence of facts of violations of legislation, financial and economic activities, procurement violations;

- provision of quotas for the employment of people with disabilities;

- information openness of the NGO;

- the absence of shortcomings in conducting an independent assessment of the quality of educational services.

As can be seen from the criteria presented on the example of the Irkutsk municipality, the effectiveness of an educational organization is determined based on the municipal task, which reflects the specifics of the development of education in a particular locality ^{[16, p. 20]}. From this we can conclude that the management activities of the head of the NGO should be based on these specifics. It cannot be driven into a rigid framework, which once again confirms that the main quality that should be present in the head of a public organization is precisely strategic thinking, which allows the head not only to use the acquired basic managerial skills characteristic of any institution, but also to comprehensively analyze the available resources and the tasks facing the institution. A leader with strategic thinking adapts to any institution. Having managed an organization in one municipality for many years, he will not feel fear at the beginning of managing another institution, even if he faces other tasks that were not relevant to him before ^{[4, p. 24]}.

The effectiveness of an educational organization is determined taking into account the impact on the economy of the region and the municipality. This imposes a number of additional responsibilities on the head of the NGO: to monitor the available resources, replenish them, and respond to shortages affecting the quality of services provided. And again we return to strategic thinking, without which the fulfillment of the above is impossible.

A leader with strategic thinking forms a clear vision of the organization's mission and objectives, which helps strengthen its position in the educational system. It is precisely the right priorities that help to effectively use human, financial and material resources. A strategic approach encourages the introduction of new methods, technologies, and approaches to training and management, while a clear and inspiring strategy helps unite employees around common goals, increasing their engagement and productivity ^{[19, p. 53]}.

For a novice manager, the development of strategic thinking may be associated with the development of planning, data analysis, and change management tools. This skill is not only a factor of personal success, but also the foundation for the effective functioning of an educational organization in conditions of constant change ^{[18, p. 230]}.

Before proceeding to the analysis of the process of activating strategic thinking in a novice NGO manager, let's look at the structure of this phenomenon, which is important for understanding what exactly needs to be activated. When discussing the structure of strategic thinking, it is necessary to adhere to a certain approach to its development. It is only on the basis of the chosen approach that it is possible to fully present all the components and characteristics that include the strategic thinking of a novice NGO leader ^{[4, p. 24]}.

Of particular interest here is the research of N. D. Strekalova, who identifies four key approaches to the formation of strategic thinking ^{[21, p. 136]}. Let's consider these approaches in order to identify the structural elements of the phenomenon under study.

The first approach is competence–based. In the last decade, the term "competence" has become firmly established in the field of education. Each regulatory legal act defines a range of key competencies that should be developed by students or that teachers should possess. The head of the NGO is no exception. The competence model of strategic thinking assumes that the head has a number of skills and abilities that help achieve the effectiveness and success of the NGO. Based on this approach, the structure of strategic thinking can be represented by a system of competencies (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. The structure of strategic thinking from the perspective of the competence approach

Accordingly, to activate the strategic thinking of NGO managers, a wide variety of teaching methods and technologies can be applied, the result of which will be the formation of specific competencies necessary for the management of the institution ^{[5, p. 741]}.

The second approach proposed to determine the structure of strategic thinking is situational. This approach boils down to the fact that a novice manager should have the skills to get out of specific managerial decisions. Obviously, within the framework of this approach, the use of a case study, i.e. technology for solving problematic situations in which the head of the NGO may find himself, will be effective. However, it should be noted that the activities of the head of the NGO are not based solely on solving the problems that have arisen. A novice manager faces the same tasks as an experienced manager, but they are complemented by choosing their own ways of developing the institution, management methods, and decision-making approaches. That is why the training of future managers cannot be limited only to solving situational problems, especially given that the circumstances in each specific situation may change depending on external and internal factors.

The structure of strategic thinking from the position of a situational approach can be represented as follows (Fig. 2) ^{[9, p. 496]}.

Fig. 2. The structure of strategic thinking from a situational perspective

As you can see, the situational approach does not imply that strategic thinking has any boundaries, since situations can really be different. The figure shows only the most frequent of them, or rather the areas of interaction in which problems may most often arise that require the attention of the supervisor. However, it doesn't just come down to problematic aspects. Partnerships and planned ways of cooperation in the educational field can also be included here.

The next approach, in which the structure of strategic thinking of a novice NGO manager should be considered, is a process approach. The basis of this approach consists of two components – actions and reflection. It is through them that strategic planning is carried out. At the same time, actions are divided into collective and individual, and the manager requires special attention to the behavioral aspects of the personality. Any completed action must be comprehended and analyzed from the perspective of the ratio of planned to completed. It follows that strategic thinking involves not only the intellectual efforts of the leader, but also his ability to interact with the environment. The process of strategic thinking is more related to teamwork on the problem and should take place through discussions ^{[14, p. 69]}.

And the last approach is an action–based learning approach or an experience-based approach. Since practice and accumulation of experience play a key role in the management process of an organization, this approach can also be applied to an educational institution in line with the consideration of the process of activating the strategic thinking of a novice manager. The ability to think strategically is formed precisely in the process of gaining experience: personal, interpersonal, organizational and external. From this it can be concluded that the following types of experience are factors in activating strategic thinking from the perspective of this approach:

1) general work experience, including regular performance of key duties, the full powers of the head of the NGO. This can also include not only work experience in managerial positions, but also the experience gained in general. For example, for a school principal, it is important to understand the process of organizing education and upbringing from the inside, so a person who previously worked at a school as a teacher is most likely to adapt to a new position faster than a person who comes to school from a completely different field unrelated to education.;

2) Mentor's help. The mentoring system has been developing rapidly in recent years in all possible directions and planes. For a novice manager, it will be useful to interact with experienced mentors, masters of education, who have been managing public organizations for several years, participate in projects at various levels, and strategically develop their institutions. It seems advisable to appoint such mentors for novice managers and include them in the personnel training system for public organizations.;

3) interaction with the team and individual employees who have experience in the management system or who implement innovative activities in practice. Most often, the head of an educational organization surrounds himself with a team of specialists who are able to support his initiative, implement key ideas, and propose innovations. This is also an exchange of experience and support. The selection of a management team, the ability to interact with it, listen to it, and make decisions not alone, but deliberately – this is the basis of strategic thinking within the framework of an experience-based approach.

4) monitoring of the external and internal environment, regular planning in the short term, taking into account the long-term development strategy. Why are monitoring and plans acquired experiences? The answer is obvious. Based on the results of monitoring or analyzing the results of the plan, a novice manager with strategic thinking is able to see the mistakes made, adjust his work and the work of the team.;

5) management of the main points of OO growth. Each new project, each new initiative makes a significant contribution to the development of the leader's personality, his competencies, and form a new vision for previously encountered problems and challenges of today.

6) facing threats to the NGO that come from the external environment. We mentioned earlier that strategic thinking should include the ability to see and manage such risks and threats. This is also an experience that is necessary to build high-quality NGO management.

What is needed to activate strategic thinking?

In our opinion, a novice manager, first of all, needs the formation of strategic awareness, which can be understood as the presence of the following elements:

- awareness of the role of the head as a strategist responsible for the long-term development of the organization;

- understanding the mission and goals of the educational organization;

- assessment of the impact of current decisions on the future.

Strategic awareness presupposes a true understanding of what is being done and for what purpose, of all the causal relationships between the decisions made and the result obtained. This can also include a willingness to accept that the result is not always positive: a new initiative does not always find a response from the team, and a project, even at the federal level, is not always successful at the level of an educational organization. Accepting failures and being able to see them solely as a springboard for further changes is also a quality of a leader of a public organization with strategic thinking.

The activation of strategic thinking is impossible without the development of systems thinking. It is important to pay attention to the development of skills such as:

- analysis of the organization as an integrated system;

- understanding the interactions between internal and external factors affecting the activities of the institution;

- the use of a variety of strategic planning tools developed in management science ^{[3, p. 27]}.

A novice leader learns to predict, sees trends in the development of the education system, its problems, and builds models to assess future changes in the educational sphere.

Raising the issue of activating the strategic thinking of a novice NGO manager, it is necessary to identify a number of reasons why this task needs to be solved. First of all, there have been qualitative changes in the external environment, while the speed of such changes is very high: new advances in technology, digitalization of education, transition to new forms of education, expansion of distance learning opportunities, etc. Closely related to the first reason, the second one also arises: new demands from consumers of educational services are emerging. Many parents express the need to organize distance learning for their children, and they have a request to transfer students to family education. All this changes the structure of relations within the NGO and opens up new opportunities for innovative development and at the same time can create problems that require immediate solutions ^{[9, p. 496]}.

In order to develop strategic thinking at the stage of leadership training, it is necessary to take measures aimed at activating it and to include future NGO leaders in the process of developing institution strategies. There is an urgent need to develop a special program for the development of strategic thinking, the development of which will allow novice managers to learn not only how to manage an organization, but also how to make this process effective.

In our opinion, the development of strategic thinking in the head of the NGO will contribute to:

- improving the efficiency of public organizations;

- rational use of all types of resources of the institution;

- reducing risks in the long-term development of public organizations;

- improving the effectiveness of communication between participants in the educational process;

- the growth of the NGO's image and reputation, both at the municipal and national levels

- formation of support in the team through thoughtful and well-planned decisions that do not cause negativity on the part of participants in the educational process.

Thus, the strategic thinking of novice heads of educational organizations is a new pedagogical phenomenon, without which the development of a modern institution is impossible. A changing educational system, a dynamic society and a wide information space require managers of modern educational institutions to change their competencies.

Strategic thinking is becoming an integral part of the professional competencies of modern heads of educational organizations. A novice NGO manager is experiencing a lot of difficulties. The initial stage of his work, as a rule, shows the level of mastery of managerial abilities, allows you to identify areas for further improvement of skills and abilities. The head of a public organization with a developed strategic mindset adapts faster to new conditions, easier to cope with difficulties in relationships with the team and other subjects of the educational process. Often, he already has a clear idea of what an educational organization will be like in 3-5 years and what needs to be done to achieve the intended goals.

We consider it appropriate to develop the strategic thinking of novice NGO managers.:

- to monitor the activity of strategic thinking of novice NGO managers in order to identify problematic aspects and the level of formation of ideas about the development strategy of the institution, as well as activities aimed at strategic management and solving issues in a situation of uncertainty;

- to select the most effective technologies and methods for the development of strategic thinking, to analyze the conditions under which these pedagogical methods will work most effectively;

- to organize pedagogical conditions for the activation of strategic thinking;

- to develop a program for the development of strategic thinking as a pedagogical phenomenon, taking into account the projection of the theory and practice of modern strategic management on the pedagogical sphere.

The training of future or novice managers should take place within the framework of specialized professional development programs containing a system of technologies and methods that form strategic thinking based on an integrated approach combined with those aspects that we discussed above. Training should precede or significantly expand on experience in order to ensure that key concepts and tools are understood to maximize the benefits of existing practice. The essence of the integrated approach is the purposeful and systematic formation of strategic thinking skills among students. This is achieved through the use of appropriate models and methods of strategic management, as well as through their application to various contexts (using the example of real situations). The whole process is organized within the framework of a pre-designed and implemented educational process aimed at developing strategic thinking competencies.