Portrait of a Leader

Second Edition

Download PDF
Lead for Learners
June 2, 2026

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • The Portrait of a Leader captures the essential knowledge, skills and mindsets educators need to lead sustainable, learner-centered change within educational systems
  • The second edition includes competency-based progressions that support reflection, growth and continuous learning — designed to enable personalized leadership development
  • Leadership is about everyday actions, not job titles. The Portrait supports systems-level leadership development approaches and individual professional growth for district leaders, principals, instructional coaches, teacher leaders and other instructional leaders

Leadership development for lasting change

Too often, student-centered systems change loses momentum when key individuals leave a school or district. The Portrait of a Leader provides a shared leadership foundation, helping systems build a pipeline of leaders carry the work forward.

Circles with text inside, reading: “Transformation: Inspiring bold action to drive positive, impactful change. Human-Centered Approaches: Centering people and relationships in all decisions. Authenticity: Leading with integrity, purpose and vision. Advocacy: Championing equity, access and opportunities for all. Collaboration: Working together to create systemic, sustainable solutions.”

Practical tools for leadership reflection, goal setting and continuous improvement

The second edition of the Portrait of a Leader includes:

  • A shared vision for leadership development grounded in five core attributes: Human-Centered, Authentic, Collaborative, Advocate and Transformational
  • Clear, observable competencies that can be practiced, developed and measured over time
  • Rubrics to support reflection and map progress across four levels: Establishing, Developing, Proficient and Advanced
  • Tips for reflection, goal setting and collaborative learning
  • Real-world examples of Portrait of a Leader attributes in action

For individual educators, use the Portrait of a Leader to:

  • Identify strengths and areas for growth
  • Set leadership development goals
  • Reflect on decision-making and daily leadership practice

For schools and districts, use Portrait of a Leader to:

  • Inform coaching, mentoring and feedback
  • Strengthen recruitment, onboarding and succession planning
  • Align leadership practices to your vision for personalized, competency-based learning
  • Grow emerging leaders and guide leadership development systems

It's (The Portrait) a critical step toward ensuring that the work we start today continues to serve students for years to come.
Dr. Jeni Gotto, Superintendent Westminster Public Schools, Westminster, Colorado
Lead for Learners Network Steering Committee

Download the Portrait of a Leader

Leadership is about everyday actions, not job titles. Reflect on your leadership practice.

Download PDF

This resource was developed with the Lead for Learners steering committees.

Amy Brennan
Beth Head
Brenda Diaz
Brenda Martin
Briana Morales
Carmen Coleman
Casey Lefler
Christina Guevara
Cory Steiner
Donald Rucker
Heather Madrigal
Hector Estrada
Ian McDougall
Jeni Gotto
Jennifer Echols
Josh Ecker
Kate O’Leary
Kristen Watkins
Laura Jeanne Penrod
Robert Knisely
Scott Bess
Sonn Sam

THE AUTHORS

Laura Hilger
Senior Director of Teaching and Learning
Kyle Anderson, EdD
Director of Policy in Practice
Emily Smith
Senior Director of Network Advancement

Grow your skills.
Deepen your impact.

Build the essential skills needed to lead meaningful, lasting transformation. Through this year-long Emerging Leaders professional learning cohort, participants deepen their leadership practice by strengthening and reflecting on the attributes that matter most.
Learn more

What's your leadership superpower?

This short quiz helps you explore which Portrait of a Leader attribute most naturally shows up in your leadership today.

Take Quiz
Leadership development experiences that mirror learner‑centered design help leaders embrace discomfort, distribute power and create systems that endure beyond individual roles.

Human-centered Leadership: An Emerging Leader’s Journey

Leadership development experiences that mirror learner centered design help leaders embrace discomfort, distribute power and create systems that endure beyond individual roles.
Read now

Related Resources

As teens walk in the hallway behind her, smiling for the camera is a brown-skinned woman with silver hair, earing and glasses in a gray blazer and tan shirt under it with a clipboard in her hands

Rethinking Teacher Evaluation as a Lever for Transformation

Teacher evaluation is one of education’s most influential yet underused levers for systems change, and aligning it with a district’s instructional vision is essential for lasting transformation.
Jason Swanson
Senior Director of Strategic Foresight

The Expertise Paradox: A Mismatch in Artificial Intelligence Between Work and K-12 Education

The expertise paradox highlights a growing disconnect between AI’s increasing demand for human judgment and the ways current classroom uses of AI may be undermining students’ ability to develop it.
Steve Nordmark
Senior Director of Technology Systems
Profile silhouettes of diverse group of people facing each other in shades of red and blue, overlapping

How Educators Can ‘Turn Down the Noise’

Educators can “turn down the noise” by embracing vulnerability, fostering critical thinking and cultivating human-centered classroom environments grounded in trust and reflection.
Katie King
Senior Director of Strategic Engagement
Explore All Resources

Menu

Search