4 Tips to Get Promoted to a Leadership Position at Your School

Stepping out of the classroom and into a leadership position at your school is a great move. You might be aiming to become a department head, an assistant principal, or even the next principal. Leadership isn’t just about experience or speaking the loudest. It’s about influence. It’s about vision. Leadership is about being someone others trust to follow.
Here are a few simple ways to stand out and earn that leadership role at your school.

1. Keep Educating Yourself

The skills that make you an amazing teacher won’t be enough to run a department or a whole school. Leadership demands a broader perspective and a different toolkit. Continuous learning isn’t just a nice-to-have, but is essential for competence.

Administrators need a solid grasp of school finance and budgeting, educational policy and law, and instructional leadership that spans different grades and subjects.

Attend workshops on educational technology or data analysis for school improvement.

A Doctor of Education (EdD) degree is also invaluable for professionals with a passion for leadership. According to American International College, it’s a practice-based degree that gives professionals skills to implement sustainable changes that can positively affect educators, students, and communities.

The question is, should you get an EdD? If you’re serious about long-term leadership.

Most states require specific principal or administrator certification. This usually involves completing an approved program and passing specific exams like the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) test. These credentials prove readiness for roles like principal.

But don’t limit yourself to traditional pathways or certifications alone. Broaden your horizons by exploring blogs and videos on big ideas from philosophy, science, math, and technology. Engaging with different fields of knowledge can open new viewpoints while sparking innovation within educational leadership. As well as providing tools to confront complex challenges across industries.

2. Take on Extra Responsibilities

Waiting for a title before starting to lead? That’s not how it works. Leadership position, taking on extra responsibilities. It is the prime way to show leadership potential and practice the skills needed for the next level. Administrators notice people who raise their hands.

What kinds of extra roles make a difference? Plenty. You could chair a department, lead a grade-level team, or facilitate professional learning communities (PLCs).

Or you could also mentor new teachers, serving as an instructional coach, becoming a peer assistant or reviewer. Mentoring is most effective when it goes beyond formal procedures. Edutopia notes that many of the most impactful mentoring moments occur in informal settings,  like over coffee.

Even better? Drive school-wide efforts. That is to say, organise school events, fundraisers or family nights, sponsor extracurricular activities, or coordinate community outreach.

Leadership position feels thankless at first, but it builds trust. The more people trust you, the more they will see you as a natural leader.

3. Build Relationships With Current Leaders

Leadership roles at school aren’t handed out purely based on performance. A lot of it comes down to relationships, not favouritism, but trust. And trust is built through connection.

Build genuine relationships with current school leaders, principals, assistant principals, and district administrators. These individuals offer invaluable insights, guidance, and potential advocacy. They can help aspiring leaders learn the unwritten rules and navigate the system.

How can you build these relationships authentically? Seek out leaders whose work or philosophy resonates. Initiate contact, perhaps after a meeting or workshop, and express interest. Authenticity matters. Find common ground or shared values.

Show genuine curiosity about school goals and challenges. This shows engagement and respect. Keep administrators informed about significant issues involving students, parents, or staff before they escalate or are heard from someone else. Transparency helps build trust.

4. Leave Your Ego at the Door

Leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room or always having the last word. It’s fundamentally about collaboration, service, and lifting others.

Humility conversely, is a powerful strength. It matters because ego hinders listening, learning, and genuine collaboration.  Humble leaders, on the other hand, foster psychologically safe environments where staff feel valued, ideas can be shared openly, and teams can truly thrive.

Admitting limitations and mistakes is an example of humble leadership. Acknowledging that one doesn’t have all the answers and owning up to errors builds credibility and trust. It models that failure is part of growth.

Likewise, recognising and celebrating the contributions of the team reinforces that success is a collective effort. Also, prioritising the needs of the team, the students, and the school’s mission over personal ego or recognition defines servant leadership.

If you want to step into a leadership role at school, don’t wait for someone to hand it to you. Start acting like a leader now.

You don’t need to turn into some overly formal, buzzword-spitting automaton to land a leadership job. The best leaders are real, grounded, and human. They are the ones who can laugh at a chaotic day, admit when they mess up, and still show up ready to support their people.

Related:

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• Achieving Professional Excellence With Focused Education and Training
• Time Management Strategies for Professionals
• How EdTech Has Made Midlife Career Changes a Present Reality
• Education Tools That Prepare Learners for Real-World Demands