Report highlights what makes an effective middle leader

A new report published by charity Teaching Leaders and think tank LKMco maps out the ‘sophisticated mix of skills’ that make an effective middle leader, such as a head of year, head of department or pastoral leader.

The report, entitled ‘Firing on all cylinders: what makes an effective middle leader?’, was commissioned by Teaching Leaders and drew from attainment data and interviews with middle leaders to ascertain which qualities led to the the most successful leaders.

The relationship between middle leaders and their team was identified as a key factor that influenced middle leaders’ effectiveness, as well as good planning and resource management skills.

Helping to foster this good relationship with their team, the report suggests that successful middle leaders should be open, consultive and collaborative, along with possessing good communication and diplomacy skills.

James Toop, Teaching Leaders chief executive, said: “We commissioned LKMco to write this report because we wanted to get inside the ‘black box’ of middle leadership: to understand what the best middle leaders do to deliver maximum impact for pupils. By using the results of this report we can ensure middle leaders focus their time on the aspects of their role that deliver greatest impact and that our programmes disproportionately develop these skills.

“If we are to truly eradicate the inequity of outcomes in our education system, we need our best middle leaders firing on all cylinders. This report gets to the heart of what differentiates good from great middle leadership.”