How Principals Can Grow Their Middle Leaders

This got me thinking about connection and how senior leaders connect with their teachers. I think this is a place where a lot of supervisors shine. I have undoubtedly grown as an educator through my reflective conversations with my Principals. I remember a supervisor who gently challenged the amount of time I kept kids on the carpet for instruction, another instructor who questioned how I planned for conferring, and supervisors who checked in on my wellbeing throughout my doctoral studies. This makes sense; it is a common responsibility of senior leaders to provide growth-oriented feedback to their teachers as part of professional development.

But how do Principals support the professional growth of their middle leaders? And what kind of support do middle leaders—like team leaders, instructional coaches, and curriculum coordinators—need from their supervisors? When middle leaders partner with Principals and are supported by them, schools reach higher academic outcomes (Sharif, 2020). Principals are instrumental in developing the capacity of their middle leaders and can do this using the skill set they already have.

The first thing leaders can do to grow their middle leaders is to connect by being visible. Attend the meetings the team leader runs, talk to them about what their team is doing, review agendas, and share positive feedback. Middle leaders want to feel like their work is being noticed and appreciated. Formal teacher leader training is valuable, but the most powerful development happens within schools through regular, intentional Principal and middle leader interactions. Frequent, learning-focused leadership interactions improve teacher practice and a middle leader’s motivation to contribute to the organization (Robinson, 2011; Timperley, 2018). Middle leaders desire autonomy and agency over how they lead their respective teams, but do not confuse this as a desire for complete independence—they actually desire interdependence with their Principals.

Once the relationship is established, Principals should have a meeting with the middle leader solely focused on their leadership. This can be difficult because middle leaders also have classroom responsibilities, and it can be easy to prioritize conversations about teaching practice and students. However, middle leaders need intentional time to develop their leadership because they influence both teaching quality and school culture more directly than senior administrators (Leithwood et al., 2020). This initial meeting should review expectations of the role, establish clarity on what is and is not the role of the middle leader, include goal setting for the middle leader’s leadership development, and establish ongoing meeting times. Depending on the middle leader, the Principal may need to coach them toward an appropriate goal. Possible goals could include strengthening facilitation skills, deepening team collaboration, developing understanding of the curriculum, prioritizing time in meetings to discuss instructional practices and student learning, or building understanding of curriculum design and Understanding by Design frameworks for curriculum documentation and review (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

After the middle leader’s goals are established, the Principal and middle leader should partner in determining what the success criteria and “look-fors” are so that the Principal can accurately and authentically support the attainment of these goals. The success criteria will determine the best actions by the Principal; perhaps a series of shared readings and discussions is best, maybe connecting partnerships across the school is needed, maybe role-playing scenarios would be beneficial, or perhaps helping select the most effective protocol for meetings is the appropriate support. These actions and established meeting times will provide the guidance for future meetings.

Now, I know you might be thinking, middle leaders are busy enough; they don’t want to meet with me more than they have to. I can’t speak for everyone, but I disagree. These are not one-off, random meetings; they are meetings with intentionality, designed to build leadership capacity. If these meetings are a positive, reflective space where I am actively documenting my growth, being recognized for my efforts, and utilizing my position purposefully, I would look forward to them.

A simple sample 20-minute agenda for these meetings could be:

• 5 minutes: Reflect on recent team successes and challenges
• 10 minutes: Connect these to the middle leader’s goal and success criteria, and set an actionable step
• 5 minutes: Plan the why, when, and how of the action step

You also want to ensure that you give space for the leadership goal to evolve and change. The start of the second semester or mid-year is a great time to reflect on what’s working and what may need to change. It’s possible that what began as a goal around using protocols to look at student learning evolves into a goal around strengthening teamwork and collegial relationships. Principals need to maintain their agility and active listening to recognize when a pivot or stretch is needed. Help the middle leader shift between the balcony and the dance floor to accurately assess what their team needs and what their best position is.

Another important way you can develop your middle leaders through ongoing professional learning is in your common meeting times as a leadership team. Whether you meet with your teacher leaders weekly or monthly, every meeting provides an opportunity for you to model leadership skills and behaviors. So, your meetings need to be good meetings. There need to be intentional agenda items to build trust, frequent opportunities to discuss instructional practice and student learning, and observable behaviors like paraphrasing, pausing, and presuming positive intentions. Middle leaders look to your leadership for the standard; meetings that focus on logistics, consistently go over time, or are poorly facilitated communicate a message about what you value. They may also lead middle leaders to question your competence to guide them or decrease their self-efficacy to lead their teams.

Finally, if you’re in a leadership position, chances are you were once a middle leader. Be sure to share your own vulnerabilities, tell stories of your struggles and successes, or even talk about a current leadership challenge you are facing and seek their input. Yes, the Principal is a supervisor and mentor, but you can also be a partner and inquirer.

Research shows that effective middle-level leadership has a measurable impact on teacher effectiveness (Handy, 2025). But behind every effective middle-level leader stands a Principal who has invested time, guidance, and trust. Stop thinking about how we evaluate middle leaders; start thinking how you elevate them.


Read more about developing and empowering middle-level leaders in Unlocking Success With Middle-Level Instructional Leaders and Establishing Organizational Clarity for Middle Leaders in Schools.

References

Handy, K. (2025). The impact of different levels of instructional leaders in international schools. [Doctoral dissertation, University of the Cumberlands]

Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2020). Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership.

Robinson, V. M. J. (2011). Student-Centered Leadership.