It is believed that a good teacher can be a good leader. However, the development of teacher leaders is not an automatic process. Leadership is a skill that must be worked on through training to “have a strong sense of purpose, develop collegial relationships and collaborations, move beyond the boundaries of their classrooms and influence colleagues without the use of overt power” (Lieberman, Saxl, & Miles, 1988, as cited in Riveros et al., 2013; p. 2).

Although many people think that a leader is born and not made, researchers support the idea that leadership skills can be gained through training, strategy, and necessary techniques (Riveros et al., 2013).

As you complete this course, you will: 

• define a leader,
• develop leadership skills in the classroom, and
• identify the teacher’s role in developing the next generation of leaders