Principals, superintendents, and administrators play a pivotal role in affecting the climate, academic success, and emotional wellbeing of their school community. Effective school leaders guide their communities to work toward a shared vision and goals, promoting growth and opportunity for learners, teachers, and families.
There’s no such thing as “perfect” leadership, but there are some common characteristics that stand out in a good leader. Powerful school leaders approach their job with a particular mindset that helps them to create inclusive, engaging, and effective learning communities.
Here are five essential qualities of effective school leaders:
1. Purposeful
Leadership in any setting should be driven by a strong sense of purpose. As a school leader, this means having the desire to provide the best academic experience for every student, and this purpose-driven quality is critical to support effective leadership. Purposeful leaders are robust and rigorous in terms of self-evaluation and data analysis and create clear strategies for improvement based on the needs and goals of their school community.
2. Ambitious
Effective school leaders strive for the best quality learning and experiences for their students, teachers, and staff. Leaders who are ambitious do everything in their power to hire high quality teachers and promote rich opportunities for learning both in and outside the classroom, focusing on improving teaching and learning with effective professional development opportunities for all staff. These leaders have consistent, high expectations and champion the success of their teachers and learners.
3. Communicative & Collaborative
School leaders cultivate a variety of partnerships with parents, organizations, and the community to support student learning and progress. Effective leaders intuitively know they can’t attain their school’s vision on their own and instead create high-functioning teams to support their goals. Community is at the core of their leadership, contributing to stability, engagement, and better outcomes for all community members.
4. Emotionally Intelligent
Social and emotional learning and skills are an important quality of effective school leaders. It’s important that school leaders both understand and respond to the emotions and needs of others, as emotional intelligence in a leader greatly impacts an organization’s ability to be successful. Students, teachers, and staff in a school led by an emotionally intelligent person are more likely to have greater emotional intelligence and SEL skills, too.
5. Visionary
A visionary leader is clear and confident about what they believe and the decisions they make. Effective school leaders with this quality know what’s best for students’ academic, social, and emotional learning. Visionary leaders are committed to the school’s vision, have a plan to implement this vision, and consistently do what they know is necessary to lead all stakeholders toward this vision.
These core qualities are foundational to effective school leaders. Educational leadership with these traits is valuable to students, teachers, and school communities, guiding learning, shaping a school’s vision, and supporting school-wide goals. Learn more about how FEV Tutor is able to support and empower school and district leaders by visiting our website or contacting us today!