Leadership Development Can’t Be an Afterthought
Jennifer Doede, CMAA
School districts don’t necessarily have a leadership-potential problem; they have an intentional-development problem.
Across education, we recognize promising teachers and emerging leaders. We give them opportunities to lead committees, initiatives, and projects, hoping that experience will prepare them for the next level. At the same time, current administrators are expected to continue growing as leaders while managing the daily demands of running a school.
It’s not that the district doesn’t value leadership. The problem is that leadership development is often not an owned, funded, and protected function of a district. As a result, aspiring leaders are left to manage their own development, whereas active administrators must balance their professional growth against immediate school priorities.
Development Needs an Owner
Intentional leadership development looks different from simply offering another workshop or sending administrators to a conference. It requires a connected approach including identifying future leaders, providing meaningful leadership experiences, offering coaching and feedback, supporting transitions into new roles, and continuing development throughout an administrator’s career. A 2019 RAND Research describes this as a principal pipeline, connecting work involving preparation, hiring and placement, induction, evaluation and support.
Common Approach | Intentional Approach |
Development happens around certification, vacancies, or new appointments. | Development begins before promotion and continues throughout a leader’s career. |
Success is measured by attendance or completed credentials. | Success is measured through readiness, leadership practice, retention, internal mobility and school outcomes. |
The “Additional Duty” Problem
Perhaps the biggest challenge is simple: we cannot call leadership development a priority while treating it as spare-time or part-time work. If an administrator is asked to “lead leadership development” on top of an already full job, we need to answer some important questions to ensure the validity and fidelity of the work.
- What responsibilities will come off their plate?
- What time will be protected?
- What resources will be provided/
- Who will be responsible for measuring progress?
Accountability cannot be established without first building adequate capacity. The key lies in guaranteeing that the role is backed by dedicated time, sufficient resources, clear authority, and quantifiable duties.
Can We Afford Not To?
We must also consider the financial side. A RAND study of six large districts found that comprehensive principal pipelines cost approximately $42 per pupil annually [1], less than 0.5% of district budgets in those districts, and resulted in stronger student outcomes and lower turnover among newly placed principals. The research is specific to those districts and should not be interpreted as a guaranteed result elsewhere, but it provides an important perspective on the potential value of intentional leadership development.
RAND’s 2025 survey found that more than 74% of surveyed districts wanted to provide more professional development for both principals and assistant principals. The challenge is not recognizing the need, but building the capacity and systems to meet it.
Proactive Instead of Reactive
Developing leaders shouldn’t begin when a vacancy appears. Districts can identify aspiring leaders transparently, provide supported leadership assignments, create meaningful coaching opportunities, develop current administrators and regularly examine succession and retention data. The goal is to build a system where educators are intentionally prepared for leadership before the opportunity arrives. If developing people is everyone’s responsibility but no one’s protected work, it will always lose to the next urgent need. It’s not whether districts can afford to invest in leadership development, it’s whether we can afford to leave leadership readiness to chance.
Footnotes:
We are heading into the middle of February and how are those New Year’s Resolutions going? We’ve all been there. Having ambitious well intentioned goals, only to have them fizzle out by the middle of February and non-existent in March.
The problem isn’t your amibiton…it’s your system setup. If goals are your destination, then systems are the vehicle that get you there.
Let’s look at this more in depth:
Feature Goals (The “What”) Systems (The ‘How”)
Focus Results and Outcomes Daily habits and processes
Duration Temporary (ends once reached) Continuous (lifestyle based)
Control Often influenced by luck 100% within your control
Happiness Deferred to the finish line Found in the daily progress
3 Reasons Systems Beat Goals Every Time
Goals Have an Endpoint Problem
Have you ever trained for a race, finished it, and then stopped running entirely? That’s
the goal trap. Once the target is hit, the motivation evaporates. A system makes you a runner, regardless of whether there’s a medal waiting at the end of the week.
the goal trap. Once the target is hit, the motivation evaporates. A system makes you a runner, regardless of whether there’s a medal waiting at the end of the week.
Systems Build Consistency, Goals Build Stress
When you focus solely on a goal, you are perpetually in a state of "not being good enough yet." Systems flip the script. If you show up and do the work today, you’ve succeeded. It replaces the anxiety of the "gap" with the satisfaction of the "gain."
Success is a Lagging Measure
Your bank account is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your fitness is a lagging measure of your eating habits. You don't "attain" success; you inhabit the systems that produce it as a byproduct.
"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." — James Clear
How to Build Your First System
Don’t scrap your goals. They are your “direction finders.” Once you know where you are going, pivot your focus to the minimum repeatable action.
Goal | System |
Lose 20 pounds | Walk for 30 minutes every morning and prep high-protein lunches on Sundays. |
Write a book | Write 200 words every day at 7:00am with a cup of coffee. |
Goals are great for setting a course, but systems are for making true progress. If you ignored your goals for a month and focused only on your daily habits, would you still see results? YES! You’ve built a system that works.
In the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, leadership isn’t about titles or corner offices; it’s about survival, sacrifice and the strength of the team. While the Netflix Show Stranger Things, captivates us with 80s nostalgia and supernatural thrills, it also gives us a masterclass in modern leadership.
Lesson 1: Fueling the “Energy Bus” with Positivity
Leadership expert Jon Gordon often teaches that “pessimists don’t change the world.”In Hawkins, the stakes couldn’t be higher, yet the characters who thrive and survive are those who maintain a vision of hope. When Will goes missing, Joyce Byers refuses to accept the “logical” conclusion She builds a communication system out of Christmas lights, fueled by what Gordon calls The Power of Positive Leadership.
Leaders must be the “Chief Energy Officer” of their teams. Like Joyce, you must confront negativity and stay focused on the vision, even when others think you are “crazy” for believing in a breakthrough.
Lesson 2: The Power of “One More”
Ed Mylett champions the “Power of One More”, doing one more rep, making one more call or stay one more minute. This relentless pursuit is what transforms a group of kids into a formidable team. Think of Steve Harrington. He didn’t start as a hero. (In fact, according to the Duffer brothers, he was supposed to be killed off at the end of the first season but they all loved him so much they kept him). Steve consistently chooses to do “one more” brave thing - one more swing of the bat, one more protective stand for the kids. He moved from being a self-absorbed teenager to a selfless protector by maximizing his moments.
Leadership is a “Max Out” game. As Mylett says, you are always “one decision away” from a completely different life, personal or professional result. Are you willing to go “one more” round for your team?
Lesson 3: Raising the Lid on Potential
John Maxwell’s Law of the Lid states that leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. In Stranger Things, we see characters constantly hitting their “lids” and breaking through them. Eleven (El) begins with immense power but zero leadership skills. Through her “found family,” she learns the Law of Connection, that leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
Your technical “superpowers” will only take you so far. To increase your impact, you must raise your leadership lid by intentionally adding value to others (Maxwell’s Law of Addition).
The ultimate lesson of Stranger Things is that “friends don’t lie.” In leadership, this translates to transparency and trust. Whether you are navigating a department or an interdimensional rift, you cannot lead people who do not trust you.
As Gordon, Mylett, and Maxwell all agree: your culture is not what you say; it’s what you live. When the “Upside Down” of Athletics hits, it is the strength of your connections and the clarity of your vision that will bring your team back into the light.
We've all heard it: "Go big or go home!" It's a mantra often shouted from motivational posters and entrepreneurial podcasts, promising that only the grandest, most boldest leaps lead to success. But what if this seemingly empowering phrase is actually a subtle trap, pushing us towards an unsustainable pursuit of perfection and leaving us feeling deflated when our massive efforts don't immediately pay off?
The "go big" mentality can breed a kind of all-or-nothing perfectionism. If every endeavor has to be a home run, a game-changer, or a viral sensation, then the fear of falling short becomes paralyzing. We postpone projects, hesitate to start new habits, and procrastinate on important tasks, waiting for that elusive perfect moment or revolutionary idea. The pressure to "go big" can be so immense that we end up "going nowhere" instead, stuck in analysis paralysis or the quicksand of self-doubt.
So, what's the antidote to this "go big or go home" trap? The quiet, powerful truth of incremental progress. Yep. Progress instead of perfection. This is the power of small, consistent steps. Whether you're learning a new skill, building a business, improving your health, or writing a book, the most sustainable and impactful progress often comes from the compound effect of tiny, manageable actions.
Here's why incremental progress is better:
- Reduces Overwhelming Feelings: Breaking down large goals into small, achievable steps makes them less daunting and more approachable.
- Builds Momentum: Each small win provides a psychological boost, fueling your motivation to continue. This positive feedback loop is crucial for long-term engagement.
- Encourages Learning and Adaptation: Small steps allow for course correction and refinement along the way. You can learn from your experiences without having invested everything into one huge, unchangeable strategy.
- Fosters Consistency: It's far easier to commit to a small, daily action than to a sporadic, monumental effort. Consistency is the secret sauce for lasting change.
- Cultivates Resilience: When a small step doesn't go as planned, it's easier to recover and adjust than when a massive, all-consuming effort falls flat.
So, the next time you feel the pressure to "go big," remember that true, lasting impact is often forged in the quiet dedication to small, consistent steps. Don't be afraid to start small, to make incremental gains, and to celebrate the journey rather than just the destination. Because it's in those seemingly tiny efforts that the truly grand achievements are made.
In today's fast-paced world, it's all too easy to get lost in the whirlwind of responsibilities and distractions, especially social media. But imagine a life where every moment feels rich and fulfilling. A life where you are fully present, savoring each experience and truly enjoying your surroundings.
Welcome to the art of being present.
When you choose to be present, you unlock a myriad of benefits:
- Enhanced Well-being: Feel more connected and in tune with yourself and your environment.
- Improved Relationships: Foster deeper, more meaningful connections with those around you.
- Greater Appreciation: Discover the beauty and joy in the small things that often go unnoticed.
This topic resonated with me this week as I am heading on an Alaskan cruise with family. The beauty of nature and taking in all the surroundings is really about enjoying it and being where your feet are. So whether it is a conversation or a vacation, be where your feet are.
