Principles of Leadership Applied in Education

What makes a great leader in a classroom, a school, or an entire educational institution? The answer might surprise you – it has roots not in pedagogy textbooks, but in the battlefield. The US Army’s 11 Principles of Leadership, first developed in 1948 and published in an Army Field Manual in 1951, have remained essentially unchanged for over seven decades. They are still taught across all branches of the Armed Forces – from entry-level recruits to senior officers – because they capture something universal about how human beings lead and follow. These same principles translate with remarkable precision into educational settings, offering teachers, principals, and administrators a clear roadmap for realizing their full leadership potential.

Why military leadership principles belong in education 🔗

Leadership in education has evolved significantly. Contemporary educational leadership has shifted away from top-down, authoritative models toward collaborative, inclusive approaches that involve teachers, students, parents, and the wider community. Yet the core of what makes a leader effective – self-awareness, accountability, clear communication, and genuine care for people – has never changed. That is precisely where the Army’s 11 principles remain relevant. Research from the University of Kansas highlights how educators who apply military-derived values such as leading by example, mentoring, and fostering continuous improvement can make a transformative difference in schools. Let’s examine each principle and how it applies in the context of education.

Principles you apply to yourself 🔗

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement 🔗

The first principle begins with honest self-reflection. A leader who does not understand their own strengths, weaknesses, values, and blind spots cannot lead others effectively. In education, this means teachers and administrators must regularly assess how their behavior, decisions, and communication styles affect the people around them. Research published in the Academy of Business and Education journal confirms that self-awareness is a cornerstone of effective leadership – schools with self-assessing leaders tend to show stronger teacher retention and improved student performance. Self-improvement is not a one-time goal; it is an ongoing commitment to close the gap between where you are and where your institution needs you to be.

2. Be technically and tactically proficient 🔗

Before a leader can credibly guide others, they must master the domain they are leading in. For educators, this means staying current with instructional strategies, curriculum frameworks, assessment methods, and the specific challenges of their school environment. A principal who does not understand what good teaching looks like cannot effectively support their staff. A department head unfamiliar with new content standards cannot lead curriculum development. The Wallace Foundation’s landmark research shows that the most effective school leaders rank second only to teachers in their impact on student learning – and that impact is rooted in instructional knowledge, not just administrative skill.

3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions 🔗

Leaders do not wait for someone else to fix a problem. They identify what needs to be done and act. In schools, this means teachers take ownership of their classroom culture, administrators own their policy decisions, and no one deflects accountability onto colleagues or circumstances. When something goes wrong – a lesson that missed the mark, a disciplinary decision that backfired – an effective educational leader accepts criticism, learns from it, and adjusts. This culture of accountability, when modeled at the top, filters through the entire institution. It creates an environment where staff feel safe enough to take initiative because they know they will be supported, not blamed, when things don’t go perfectly.

4. Make sound and timely decisions 🔗

School leaders face a constant stream of decisions – from daily operational calls to long-term strategic choices about curriculum, staffing, and student support. The Army principle of making sound and timely decisions is directly applicable here. Indecision or chronic delay erodes staff confidence and student outcomes. Sound decision-making in education means gathering relevant information, consulting stakeholders where appropriate, and acting decisively even when the data is imperfect. Educational leadership research consistently shows that leaders who balance collaboration with decisiveness create more stable and higher-performing school environments.

5. Set the example 🔗

Of all eleven principles, this one may carry the most weight in education. According to Academy Leadership, a leader’s personal example affects behavior more than any instruction or form of discipline. In a school, if a principal expects teachers to be punctual, prepared, and reflective – they must model those behaviors themselves. If a teacher expects students to be curious, respectful, and persistent – they must demonstrate those qualities in how they conduct their own learning and classroom interactions. The standard you walk past is the standard you set. Students and staff notice everything.

Principles you apply to others 🔗

6. Know your people and look out for their welfare 🔗

Knowing someone’s name and role is not enough. Effective educational leaders understand what motivates each teacher, what pressures each student faces, and what support each person needs to thrive. LSU’s research on educational leadership underscores that servant leadership – which focuses on creating conditions for teachers and students to succeed through genuine care and listening – is among the most effective models in schools. This principle requires time and deliberate effort. It means having real conversations, noticing when someone is struggling, and acting on what you learn rather than filing it away.

7. Keep your people informed 🔗

Uncertainty breeds anxiety. When teachers don’t know why a policy is changing, when students don’t understand the purpose of an assignment, or when parents are kept in the dark about school decisions, trust erodes. The Army principle of keeping people informed recognizes that individuals perform better when they understand the “why” behind what they are doing. In education, this translates to transparent communication from school leaders to teachers, from teachers to students, and from institutions to families. Clear, simple communication – not more words, but the right words – is a foundational leadership skill in any school setting.

8. Develop a sense of responsibility among your people 🔗

Great leaders do not create dependence – they build the next generation of leaders. In schools, this means deliberately developing student agency, teacher leadership, and staff initiative. Administrators who empower teachers to take ownership of their professional development, curriculum decisions, and classroom environments cultivate a culture of responsibility that extends far beyond any single leader’s tenure. Research from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders confirms that when teachers are empowered as instructional leaders and decision-makers, both student outcomes and teacher professional satisfaction improve. Responsibility, when shared, multiplies its impact.

Principles you apply to group functions 🔗

9. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished 🔗

Clarity of expectation is non-negotiable in education. Whether it is an assignment, a school improvement initiative, or a staff development goal – people need to know exactly what is expected, by when, and to what standard. Supervision here does not mean micromanagement. It means checking in, providing feedback, removing obstacles, and confirming that the work is progressing. The Military Leader notes that this principle requires leaders to balance trust with oversight – giving people room to work while remaining engaged enough to course-correct when needed. In schools, this balance is the difference between accountability and control.

10. Train your people as a team 🔗

A school is not a collection of individual classrooms – it is a system. Learning communities, collaborative planning, peer observation, and professional learning communities are all expressions of this principle in educational practice. Effective school leadership research consistently finds that distributed leadership – where responsibilities are shared more widely – produces better outcomes than leadership concentrated in one person. When teachers see themselves as members of a team with shared goals and mutual accountability, the entire institution benefits. Building that team cohesion is a deliberate leadership function, not something that happens automatically.

11. Employ your institution in accordance with its capabilities 🔗

Every school has unique strengths – specialist teachers, community partnerships, technology resources, extracurricular programs, or a particular cultural heritage. The final principle calls on leaders to understand their institution’s actual capabilities and deploy them strategically, rather than trying to replicate another school’s model wholesale. The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders from the National Policy Board for Educational Administration emphasize that effective educational leaders manage their school’s operations and resources intentionally, building on existing strengths while working to address real gaps. Knowing what your school does well – and leading from that foundation – is both efficient and empowering.

Bringing the principles together 🔗

What makes these 11 principles so enduring is that they are not prescriptive rules about technique – they are principles about character and conduct. They define what a leader owes to themselves, to the people they lead, and to the collective mission of their institution. In education, that mission is the growth and success of every student and every educator in the building. International research on successful school principals consistently demonstrates that the quality of leadership is among the most significant factors explaining variation in student outcomes between schools. These principles give educational leaders – regardless of their role or level – a practical, time-tested framework for reflecting on their own performance and continuously raising the standard of their leadership.

Leadership potential in education is not reserved for those with the largest offices or the longest titles. It lives in every teacher who sets the example, every department head who develops their team, and every principal who genuinely looks out for the welfare of their staff. The Army’s 11 principles remind us that leadership is not a position – it is a practice.

What do you think? Of the eleven principles, which one do you believe is most underpracticed in schools today – and what would change if educational leaders committed to it consistently? If you could introduce just one of these principles into your institution this term, which would have the greatest immediate impact on your team?

References

1. https://academyleadership.com/leadership-articles/201406.asp
2. https://info.online.bradley.edu/doctor-of-education/blog/educational-leadership-principles
3. https://educationonline.ku.edu/community/building-a-strong-educational-leadership-team
4. https://www.abacademies.org/articles/the-role-of-selfassessment-in-leadership-development-for-educational-administrators-17156.html
5. https://wallacefoundation.org/resource/article/effective-principal-five-pivotal-practices-shape-instructional-leadership
6. https://www.keiseruniversity.edu/articles/leadership-styles-in-education-nine-ways-educators-guide-talent/
7. https://online.lsu.edu/newsroom/articles/educational-leadership-philosophy/
8. https://educationalrenaissance.com/2022/02/12/teachers-are-leaders-6-principles-of-leadership-for-schools/
9. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509719.pdf
10. https://themilitaryleader.com/principles-military-leadership-day-3/
11. https://thirdspacelearning.com/us/blog/7-tips-effective-leadership-schools/
12. https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf
13. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED614324.pdf