Developing Resilient School Leaders - Three Fail-Proof Strategies District Leaders Can Use to Invest In and Keep Effective Principals

Oct 15, 2026

Developing Resilient School Leaders outlines why resilient school leadership is critical amid major uncertainty, including principal turnover pressures and shifting social and educational conditions. It defines resilient leadership as self-awareness, continuous learning, and resolve that transforms schools through adversity. The guide explains three district-level strategies—coaching, subtracting, and teaming—showing how to build capacity, remove what no longer works, and leverage distributed leadership to improve student outcomes and sustain effective principal leadership.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Resilient Leadership in Action

What Is Resilient Leadership?

How Do You Develop Resilient Leaders?

Coaching Works for Principals, Too

How to Subtract—Not Add—to Drive Results

Developing Resilient School Leaders Three Fail-Proof Strategies District Leaders Can Use to Invest In and Keep Effective Principals Resilient Leadership in Action Three Fail-Proof Strategies District Leaders Can Use to Invest In and Keep Effective Principals In this era of the Great Resignation, when nearly 40% of principals anticipate leaving their roles, districts need more resilient leaders who can meet the challenges ahead. The past two years—from the global pandemic to the national social justice movement—have created a vastly more complex and demanding environment for school leaders. The need for principals and school leaders to be able to effectively navigate amid a fog of uncertainty and constant change has made resiliency a key component of effective school leadership. What is resilient leadership? Resilient leadership is the act of demonstrating self-awareness, ongoing learning, and resolve in the service of continuous improvement. Resilient principals lead through adversity. They see setbacks as temporary and challenges as an opportunity to learn. And, they propel the teachers, students, and families in their school community to do the same. It’s not simply bouncing back when times are hard. Resilient leaders transform their schools for the better. How do you develop resilient leaders? This guide offers district leaders three solutions to build resiliency among the leaders in their schools—and get results where it matters most: for students. 1. Coaching: Providing targeted guidance and resources to lead more effectively 2. Subtracting: Evaluating what is working and removing what isn’t 3. Teaming: Leveraging distributed leadership to drive collective action Do not judge me by my successes. Judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. – Nelson Mandela @2023 New Leaders 1 Coaching Works for Principals, Too School leadership can be a lonely and overwhelming place, but it doesn’t have to be. District leaders can offer support and foster effective leadership by providing coaching for principals. Here’s why coaching works. 1. Flexes adaptive leadership muscles Adaptive challenges require leaders to find solutions to problems that do not have easy or singular answers. To do so, they need to engage with multiple perspectives, identify key partners, and mobilize the school community to forge collective solutions. A coach helps leaders to chart a way forward and holds them accountable for the results. 2. Provides individualized support Coaching provides leaders with a safe space to present a problem of practice and get actionable feedback. By knowing the specific context of schools, a skilled coach helps principals get clear on where they are now, where they want to be, and the steps they need to take to get there. 3. Ensures direct application of professional learning Often professional development for leaders happens outside of schools, making it difficult to truly apply the learning because it’s rooted in theory, not practice. Coaching, on the other hand, provides job-embedded learning that is continuous and directly applicable to a leader’s goals. 4. Creates space for self-reflection Coaching offers leaders a way to deliberately and mindfully slow down, flex their own curiosity, and think about current situations and solutions. Self-reflection, coupled with accountability, enables leaders to identify and overcome their own obstacles and then move forward in ways that benefit students and the whole school community. TAKEAWAY: Resilient leaders thrive on a growth mindset. Look for coaches who push beyond compliance and challenge your principals to drive toward solutions. Coaching is professional development. It’s a structure through which we can reflect, grow, and refine our practices; it’s a way we can learn to use new tools and incorporate new approaches; it’s a method for improving teacher and leader practices, and improving student outcomes. –

FAQs

What are the three strategies districts can use to build resiliency?

The guide presents Coaching, Subtracting, and Teaming. Coaching provides targeted support, Subtracting removes what isn’t working, and Teaming leverages distributed leadership to drive collective action.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery