Blog Post
6 Powerful Qualities of Thriving School Leaders (& How You can Achieve These Through Leadership Development)
Continuous growth unlocks the potential for real, sustainable change and impact. With the growing complexities of school management and leadership, leadership development is no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity—especially for those navigating the first five years of their role. Principals, assistant principals, directors of instruction, deans, and others face the challenge of juggling daily operations, managing staff, ensuring academic benchmarks are met, problem-solving, and more.
The BES School Management & Leadership Accelerator is an eight-month, cohort-based program that builds a diverse and dynamic network of strategic and high-performing school leaders, and helps them develop sharp business acumen, strong emotional intelligence, and the confidence to drive lasting, transformative change.
Below are six powerful qualities school leaders will develop as a result of coaching, training, and school studies through the program.
1. Strong school leaders lead with clarity and confidence.
Transformational leadership begins with a clear and compelling vision. Leaders will learn to craft purpose-driven vision statements that not only reflect their school’s mission and values but also galvanize their teams around student achievement. They lead with intention, using vision as both a compass and a catalyst for sustainable change.
2. Strong school leaders establish inclusive school environments that foster engagement and collaboration.
Schools thrive when every voice is valued. Leaders will gain and strengthen tools to foster inclusive, collaborative communities where staff, students, and families are authentically engaged. By centering empathy and responsiveness, they build environments rooted in trust, belonging, and shared ownership.
3. Strong school leaders implement data-driven strategies to improve student outcomes.
Data isn’t just numbers—it’s a roadmap for student success. Leaders will be able to interpret performance data and make informed instructional decisions. With sharpened analytical skills, they close achievement gaps and turn insight into measurable academic gains.
4. Strong school leaders develop high-performing, motivated teams through effective coaching and accountability.
Great leaders grow great teams. Leaders will learn to build cultures of high performance through coaching, feedback, and accountability. Additionally, they will learn to unlock the potential in every educator, driving improved retention, stronger instruction, and collective growth.
5. Strong school leaders strengthen school operations for long-term success.
A school’s success depends on seamless systems. Leaders will become operational strategists—streamlining processes, optimizing budgets, and maximizing resource use to create schools that run smoothly and sustainably. Strong operations free up time and energy to focus on what matters most: student learning.
6. Strong school leaders navigate challenges with adaptive leadership and strategic decision-making.
In today’s evolving educational landscape, resilience is a necessity. Leaders will learn to confront complex challenges with adaptive leadership—balancing technical solutions with empathy, foresight, and strategic thinking. By learning to anticipate and respond rather than react, participants become agile, forward-thinking change agents.
How can you achieve these outcomes and ensure you have the tools, mindsets, and community needed to lead a thriving school? The BES Accelerator can support you through comprehensive programming that blends learnings from exemplary school studies, one-on-one coaching from experts, targeted workshops, and idea-sharing with other leaders from across the country.
The BES Accelerator is for all K-12 school leaders who manage people or programs, and are in the first five years of their leadership role. The deadline to apply is August 15. The program will run from September 2, 2025, to May 19, 2026.
Learn more and be a part of this inaugural cohort: bes.org/programs/accelerator.
