Too much emphasis has been put on the head as superhero, the authoritative, sometimes authoritarian, figure in charge of everything, said Heather du Quesnay, chief executive of the National College for School Leadership.

She believes the future requires more power-sharing in schools, freeing both teachers and local communities to contribute more towards pupil learning.

Her comments were welcomed by classroom unions. “It’s a delicate balance,” said Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers. “You don’t want some softy who’s going to be taken apart by a troublemaker, whether that’s a parent or pupil.

“But you need an authority figure who’s prepared to listen to other views and, if a better argument is put up, to take it on board.”

Mrs du Quesnay, speaking at the Community Schools’ Network’s annual conference in London, said educationists had an interest in working with communities, because they helped raise standards.

But she noted: “You won’t be an effective community leader unless you have well-honed, well-developed social relationships with the communities that you serve.”

Teachers need to feel governed by the same qualities, so that they can share and discuss good practice or professional difficulties without fear of being criticised or patronised, she said.

But establishing such a school community requires “some pretty demanding personal qualities” in a headteacher, including humility, resilience, and the ability to change.

“There’s a need for a degree of personal humility in the way we engage with communities. That’s not necessarily the first quality that would be associated with us as educational professionals,” she said.

She told Hertfordshire governors at another conference in Wheathampstead:

“All organisations are increasingly seeing the future is not about glorious individuals, superheads and heroes, who take control of everything.

“The future is about people working together. Too many heads find that difficult to do. We come from a tradition that has put heads on a pedestal and encouraged them to see themselves as largely authoritative figures.”

David Hart, general secretary of the national Association of Head Teachers, said Mrs du Quesnay was living in a timewarp.

“The old authoritarian headteacher incapable of leading a team and relating to the communities which the school serves is a fiction of the past. Most are demonstrating a clear ability to work with their schools and communities.”