How to develop your middle leaders

As a senior leader, you'll always be looking out for up-and-coming talent among your staff. Learn how to show your middle leaders that you recognise their potential and take action to grow it within your school, so you can develop the next generation of senior leaders.

Last reviewed on 13 September 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 7182
Contents
  1. Benefits of investing in your middle leaders 
  2. Provide support from the top-down
  3. Give middle leaders the space to make their own decisions 
  4. Identify stretch projects from your SIP 
  5. Offer mentoring and coaching to accelerate progress 
  6. Encourage leaders to take part in networking opportunities 

Benefits of investing in your middle leaders 

Recognising and developing talent within your school can help you to:

  • Retain your aspirational leaders – it shows them they're appreciated and that your school is invested in their development
  • Reach your school development goals – with more distributed leadership, you'll be able to upskill your staff and limit the burden on your senior leadership team (SLT)
  • Develop skills in your team – you'll have greater scope to promote internally and adapt to staffing changes

Provide support from the top-down

As a senior leadership team (SLT), make sure you're providing the right support to help middle leaders’ development. Help them manage their responsibilities so they have a strong foundation to build and develop from.

Make sure your line managers are able to

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