Knowing how to develop leadership skills in your teaching staff is one of the most useful things a school leader can do. After all, schools thrive when leadership is shared across all levels of staff. When you invite people into the decision-making process, you build a strong, collaborative culture, drawing on the expertise, classroom insights and energy of your whole team. This helps you grow future leaders while keeping the focus where it belongs: on students and school improvement.
Leadership shapes how well students learn. Research for the Wallace Foundation found that, among school-related factors, leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its effect on student learning. That influence doesn't just come from the headteacher’s office. Teachers who lead projects, mentor colleagues or shape the curriculum translate school priorities into daily practice in their classrooms. As a school leader, you know why leadership matters, but building these skills in your team can be harder.
Building a leadership culture is about looking beyond the traditional leadership hierarchy and finding opportunities to upskill your team and give them more responsibility. Here are three practical ways to help your staff to lead.
Involving teachers in decision-making is one of the best ways to nurture leadership. When classroom teachers help shape the curriculum in their departments, they take greater ownership of what and how they teach. They start to see the role they can play in influencing the quality of teaching and the way that students learn about their subject, rather than just following instructions of their department head.
Do the same with department heads to strengthen leadership across the whole school. Ask for their views on strategy, budgets and policy. This helps them learn to balance local needs with wider goals. Your decisions benefit from their front-line insight and they gain the confidence to step into senior roles.
Short, focused projects are another good starting point. A teacher might lead a cross-departmental sustainability project, organise a community event or pilot a new digital learning tool. Projects like these let staff test their skills in a low-stakes setting. It also allows school leaders to assess leadership skills separately from teaching skills.
To ensure projects are successful, set a clear scope, offer mentoring and give staff protected time during the school day. Supporting your team through these hands-on milestones builds a culture where initiative is celebrated, mistakes are treated as learning opportunities and leadership development happens organically through practice.
Our article on how middle managers can balance leadership and teaching offers useful advice on supporting middle managers to think strategically while responding to everyday pressures.
Involving newer or younger team members brings fresh perspectives and fuels innovation. It also helps everyone feel valued from day one. Invite their input in discussions and keep an open door for feedback, so every voice helps shape school decisions.
Not everyone feels comfortable speaking up in large meetings, so offer varied ways to share ideas, such as digital feedback boards or small focus groups. Circulate agendas and key questions in advance and invite specific colleagues to share their expertise on an agenda item. This gives them time to prepare and take part with confidence.
Structured peer mentoring builds a supportive network across your team. Keep it non-evaluative and focused on growth, not performance appraisal. Regular peer observations, co-planning and shared problem-solving let teachers learn from each other's strengths and build confidence. For more ideas, read our guide to building a leadership culture in your school or watch our video on visionary leadership by one of our Partner School leaders in Jordan.
When school leaders think about how to develop leadership skills, finding the right professional development (PD) is often the biggest barrier. With limited time and different individual needs, it can be hard to find training that offers practical strategies rather than general theory. However, when educators access targeted, high-quality PD, they quickly build confidence, allowing them to better respond to the ongoing needs of their schools.
Start by reviewing your staff's current strengths and growth areas together. Then make sure PD choices match both individual career goals and your school's improvement plan.
Our Online Support for Schools (OSS) course, Middle Leaders Essentials, is designed to help. It gives middle leaders the practical tools they need to lead teams well.
Across five modules, it starts with setting strategic goals in line with a school's vision, then moves on to organising teams and building systems that support colleagues. The course also develops core management skills, such as leading running productive meetings, handling line management conversations (including difficult ones) and prioritising workloads. The final two modules cover monitoring and evaluating the quality of provision and building a culture where staff take ownership of their own professional development.
Partner Schools staff can access Middle Leaders Essentials through OSS. Sign up today to start building your leadership skills.
Learning how to develop leadership skills across your school takes clear structures, genuine trust and a commitment to growth. By sharing real responsibility, building a supportive environment and investing in targeted professional development, you help educators at every level step up with confidence.
When teachers have support to lead, school culture grows stronger and your whole community gains a firm foundation for the future.