Paradox or Paradigm? Enhancing Leadership Development Planning for the Succession of Educational Leaders in the Caribbean

The succession of educational leaders in the ever-changing Caribbean higher educational landscape has been a persistent challenge. The significant challenge is the dichotomous tension between preparing educational leaders for future leadership roles and preparing them with the skills needed to adapt to the rapidly changing environment of contemporary educational leadership practices. This issue represents a paradox, which is the contradictory truth between the traditional leadership status quo and the prioritization of innovation through their leadership practices. In leadership development, there is a paradigmatic shift in the frameworks and assumptions that guide the actions of effective educational leaders. The purpose of this study is to examine the existing literature and strategies on how leadership development programs in the Caribbean higher educational institutions balance the paradox of tradition versus innovation in preparing educational leaders and examine how leadership succession planning frameworks can be adapted to address the paradox of ensuring organizational stability while fostering adaptability. A systematic review methodology was used for this study. The qualitative literature extraction was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. (PRISMA) 2020 checklist. This checklist consists of twenty-seven items which were used to guide the reporting quality of the study. Data was extracted from Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Academia.edu. EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scopus. Thirty-two studies were included in the systematic review based on inclusion criteria. The results showed a lack of leadership development programs for the succession of educational leaders in most Caribbean countries. There was a lack of consensus on how to balance the paradox of traditional leadership versus innovative leadership. Most literature called for a paradigm shift in using more contemporary models and frameworks to guide the succession process. It was concluded that paradoxes can hinder the development of future leaders, and whilst there are paradigmatic issues in maintaining modern leadership development programs this may lead to a succession crisis in educational institutions. The way forward is to provide future programs to enhance training, mentorship, and a model framework for enhancing leadership capabilities.