Leader Moves

Transforming Learning Starts with Transformational Leadership

Authentic learning doesn’t happen by accident—it requires intentional leadership. Leaders play a critical role in creating the conditions where students and adults can do meaningful, challenging, and joyful work. That means protecting time for thoughtful design, supporting educator agency, and modeling curiosity, reflection, and adaptive expertise.

The most powerful leader moves aren’t about top-down directives—they’re about building trust, naming what matters, and aligning structures with purpose. Whether you’re a principal, district leader, or instructional coach, you shape what feels possible by what you prioritize, what you celebrate, and how you respond when things feel uncertain. Your leadership doesn’t have to be perfect—it just needs to be real, relational, and grounded in the learning you want to see.

This page offers a few key design and leadership strategies that support authentic learning at scale. Use them to reflect on your current practice, to guide conversations with your team, or to anchor your next planning cycle. The moves here aren’t meant to be a checklist—but a set of levers to pull, gently and intentionally, to help your school or system grow into the future it’s meant to build.