How does culture impact on leadership effectiveness, when supporting development of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) in Pakistan?

This research explores the link between the two broad concepts of societal culture and leadership, addressing the question: How does culture impact on leadership effectiveness, when supporting development of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Pakistan? Incorporating findings from qualitative research featuring six one-to-one interviews conducted with leaders having in-depth knowledge of leading educational reforms and projects, the following five key recommended leadership practices are presented: Understand the Pakistani society, interact closely with local stakeholders, engage team members for maximum output, reflect on cultural sensitivity and recognize the importance of personality when recruiting people from abroad. The findings are supported by a literature review in the areas of culture, leadership and how these two concepts relate and interact. This paper concludes that culture has a major impact on leadership and there is a need for leaders to learn more about the Pakistani culture, reflect on context related issues and appropriate practices in order to be successful. Leaders must carefully approach any change process and acknowledge the difficulties Pakistan is facing. The research clearly suggests that entering Pakistan with an attitude “to save the locals” and present ready-made solutions from the West that should be quickly implemented, will fail. To acknowledge the local knowledge and adopt solutions that are fit for the local realities are crucial in order to support the development of a well-functioning system for technical and vocational training in Pakistan, which can give young people a better future and contribute to the development of the country