The most important factor in school leadership is to understand the core purpose of a school; the provision of quality, holistic educational programmes for children set in a culture of continuous improvement. The principal must first and foremost be the instructional leader – “the leading learner, leading learning.” The credibility, the modelling influence and the vision and passion of the principal comes from this simple premise. The principal must make a personal commitment to the concept of being a life-long learner. Good leaders are good learners. Change is constant and change means continuous learning.

The other important factor of leadership is that the principal must lead. They must provide direction, take charge and make decisions. Weak, vacillating principal’s who dither, procrastinate and defer to the loud, generally lead poor schools. If you don’t exercise the authority given to you, others will. Effective leadership and the development of a quality school, are synonyms.

There is much written on leadership, the qualities of leaders and the qualities of effective schools. I am not so much interested in the philosophical principles but in a succinct checklist of leadership characteristics. At the top of the list are the big three:

* The principal must be the instructional leader of the school – not the manager, not the P.R. Consultant but the leading learner, leading learning.
* The principal must exercise leadership and make decisions – the principal must lead.
* The principal needs to have intellect and energy to drive the vision.

Other important characteristics or values:

* Clear vision, values – directions.
* Child centered focus.
* Formal routines, structures and expectations.
* Good communication, openness and honesty.
* Risk taking and lateral thinking.
* Commitment to quality improvement and to reflective practice and self review.
* Creation of respect and loyalty from staff and to the vision.
* Sensitivity and compassion for the consequences of decisions and actions.
* Professionalism.
* Creating a climate of collaborative practice.

The principal needs to be firm and purposeful, the leading professional in the school. He / she needs to develop a unity of purpose, a consistency of practice and build a culture of collegially and collaboration. There needs to be an attractive working environment and an orderly atmosphere. The principal must ensure there is a maximization of learning time with a focus on achievement and academic emphasis. The school organization needs to be as simple and efficient as possible with high, well-communicated expectations. There must be intellectual challenge and success for all children as well as a belief that all teachers are valued and fairly treated. The principal must also ensure that the school they lead is a learning organization with high quality, whole school professional development.

If, as in the New Zealand setting, schools are encouraged to be entrepreneurial and business orientated and principals required to be managers, administrators, accountants, marketers, investors, health and safety officers, lawyers, counsellors, social welfare officers, doctors, immigration agents, building supervisors and sewerage and sanitation inspectors, who do we turn to for our curriculum leaders, professional leaders, advocates, and career guides of children?