What Principals Say They Need Most: New Research from Dr. Jason Grissom
A new national study led by Dr. Jason Grissom sheds light on what principals need most to grow as leaders. The research reveals that principals value practical, relationship-driven learning experiences, yet many receive limited coaching and support beyond instructional leadership. In this blog, Amy Galloway explores the study's key findings and what they mean for districts, states, and organizations committed to developing strong school leaders.
Resetting Expectations Is the Job
Leadership is not a one-time act of setting direction. It is the ongoing work of creating clarity. As highlighted in Resetting Expectations Is the Job, effective leaders continuously revisit expectations to keep teams aligned, focused, and supported.
In schools, it is easy to assume expectations should stick after being shared once. But people interpret differently, priorities shift, and without intentional recalibration, teams drift. What may feel like repetition is actually leadership in action.
Resetting expectations is not about fixing failure. It is about sustaining success. It builds trust, removes ambiguity, and helps teams move forward together with confidence.
Clarity is not a moment. It is a practice. And leaders who embrace that create stronger cultures and better outcomes.
What Mid-Level Leaders Need Most from Their Principals
Mid-level leaders don’t need more meetings or more initiatives. They need principals who are close enough to feel their work.
Not perfectly.
Not constantly.
Just consistently, about 80% of the time.
When mid-level leaders feel supported, trusted, and developed, everything shifts. They lead with more clarity, take stronger ownership, and build more effective teams.
So what makes the difference?
Not more oversight.
But proximity, consistency, and trust.
In this blog, we highlight four key moves principals can make to better support and grow their mid-level leaders.
Because when mid-level leaders are developed well, they don’t just manage the work.
They elevate it.
Why Principals Should Teach Every Now and Then
As the principal’s role continues to expand, instructional leadership can quietly move to the margins. This post explores a simple but powerful idea: principals who teach stay closer to the core work of schools.
When leaders step into the classroom, they experience the curriculum, the pacing, and the challenges students and teachers face every day. That proximity sharpens feedback, strengthens credibility, and keeps decisions grounded in student learning.
If the leader is the lever, staying connected to teaching and learning matters.
Five Ways Principals Drive Student Outcomes
One of the most frequent questions we get here at PIVOT is, “Why principals?” What does a school get by developing its leadership that it can’t get from investing in other areas? While interventions at every level have their place in schools, we’ve chosen to work with principals because of our own experience.