Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

8 Qualities of Successful School Leaders

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principalKeeping with my theme of school leadership, I’m sharing a wonderful article I ran across by Nick Morrison on the Forbes website: The Eight Characteristics of School Leaders. At the core of the article Nick shares a list of eight qualities of successful school leaders developed by a group of UK educational researchers.

In Pennsylvania, teacher and principal effectiveness are hot topics and it has been something I’m interested in – all school leaders, not just principals – not from a policy perspective, but just from the perspective of improving performance of school leaders. The list shared in the linked post is a good one! I see this as really useful to share with all school leaders to prompt reflection. Dare I say we could stand to improve in many if not most of these areas? Nick shares additional ideas beyond the list in his post, so be sure to check it out.

  1. They have consistent, high expectations and are very ambitious for the success of their pupils.
  2. They constantly demonstrate that disadvantage need not be a barrier to achievement.
  3. They focus relentlessly on improving teaching and learning with very effective professional development of all staff.
  4. They are expert at assessment and the tracking of pupil progress with appropriate support and intervention based upon a detailed knowledge of individual pupils.
  5. They are highly inclusive, having complete regard for the progress and personal development of every pupil.
  6. They develop individual students through promoting rich opportunities for learning both within and out of the classroom.
  7. They cultivate a range of partnerships particularly with parents, business and the community to support pupil learning and progress.
  8. They are robust and rigorous in terms of self-evaluation and data analysis with clear strategies for improvement.
Randy Ziegenfuss
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Comments

  1. This is a good list. However, if your teachers don’t feel appreciated or you don’t have a positive school climate, you will not be a successful school leader!