Introduction

This report summarizes ideas on excellent leadership in American schools. In general, leadership has been defined as “the process of influencing others to achieve mutually agreed upon purposes for the organization” (Patterson, 1992). In schools, leadership can reside at two levels: the principal level and the teacher level. The full report explores the general principles of excellent leadership, strategies for each principle, and common characteristics of excellent principals and teacher leaders. The principles for effective leadership are:

Principle 1: Effective principals define, share, and manage the school mission.

Principle 2: Effective principals set and share high expectations.

Principle 3: Effective principals create supportive climates.

Principle 4: Effective principals manage the school democratically and collaboratively.

Principle 5: Effective principals manage external stakeholders effectively.

Principle 6: Effective principals are actively involved in instruction.

Principle 7: Effective principals take personal responsibility in managing a school’s learning and teaching activities.

Principle 8: Effective principals make efforts to improve curriculum and instruction.

Principle 9: Effective teacher leaders promote effective instructional strategies.

Principle 10: Effective teacher leaders support collaboration.

Summary
In this report, a description and analysis of current thinking around issues of school leadership have been presented. In some respects, it is best to think about this body of research as a ‘work in progress’ because what is considered a sufficient description of principals and characteristics of effective school leadership today, may prove to be inadequate tomorrow. School leadership has three main components: 1) Administrative, 2) Instructional, and 3) Pedagogical.

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