Grow Into the Role You Want

The assistant principalship is a dynamic, evolving role with untapped potential—especially for those looking to take their leadership to the next level. Managing instructional leadership, professional growth, and imposter syndrome often emerge as common themes when assistant principals (APs) gauge their readiness to advance. Those who prioritize these tasks in the AP role can boost their chances of success once they step into the principal’s role.

Advancing Instructional Leadership

APs wear many hats, but two areas are especially influential: relationship-building and instructional leadership. Cultivating meaningful connections with staff, students, and families sets the tone for a cohesive and trusting school environment.

“Relationship-building is so important,” says Michael Grant, assistant principal of Hyattsville Middle School in Hyattsville, Maryland. “Just like a teacher wants to know their students, [APs] have to know their staff.”

Grant recommends learning about your staff’s likes and dislikes, their strengths and challenges, and the type of learners they are. At the beginning of the year, he sends a survey to the teachers he directly supervises to find out more about them.

“I want to know about who you are—not just what you like, but who you are at your core, what your ‘why’ is, [and] what drives you, so that I can help you be better at your craft,” he says.

APs who build relationships first can drive meaningful instructional improvement. Research commissioned by The Wallace Foundation suggests that when APs take on instructional leadership roles, student achievement can improve, especially in schools where APs are empowered to lead.

“Your goal as an assistant principal is to make sure the teachers you’re working with are getting better,” Grant says. “They’re getting better at teaching, and the students are performing better in the classroom.”

As instructional leaders, APs must also sharpen their ability to give feedback that’s both honest and empowering. Conducting focused classroom observations, offering manageable suggestions, and guiding staff in applying research-based instructional strategies creates an ongoing culture of growth. By modeling co-teaching, highlighting teacher strengths, and engaging in reflective dialogue, APs can become catalysts for professional learning and improved student achievement.

“You need to show them that their students are our students, and they mean so much to all of us,” says Donna McGuire, AP of PS/IS 18–The Park Terrace School in New York City. “It really develops authenticity in practice.”

Prioritizing Professional Growth

Aspiring to future leadership requires preparation. Professional growth for APs hinges on consistent reflection, mentorship, and skill-building. Transitioning from teacher to administrator—and eventually from AP to principal—means embracing discomfort, developing resilience, and setting intentional goals for leadership impact. It also means recognizing and addressing the internal barriers that slow that momentum.

Self-assessment is key in professional growth. Gauge yourself on the following factors:

1. Career goals. Do your career goals include a principalship, and how soon? The principal advances district priorities at the building level, so the AP should be prepared to internalize and support these goals.
2. Alignment of skills. Aspiring principals should have the opportunity and support to demonstrate skills, competencies, and performance expectations that align with established principal standards.
3. Diversity. Evidence suggests that students in schools led by principals of the same race realize better outcomes. Diversity encompasses the full breadth of a person’s identity, however; race is only one aspect.
4. Culturally responsive leadership. Culturally responsive leaders can create inclusive environments by using equity audits, tapping school data to address cultural gaps in achievement, challenging exclusionary policies, and promoting inclusive instructional and behavioral practices.
5. Performance. In selecting a new principal, districts will look at an AP’s past performance on formal evaluations and other evidence of a positive relationship between the AP’s tenure and student achievement.
6. Experience working with effective principals. Research says APs who work with effective principals have a greater likelihood of success in the principalship, but talented APs who have excelled in low-performing schools might also make good candidates for advancement.

“Rate yourself in each of these categories,” recommends Gracie Branch, NAESP’s associate executive director of Professional Learning. “Then look at the evidence. What supports that rating you’re giving yourself? Where are your gaps? Where do you need extra mentoring or support?”

Many APs lack access to systematic, sequential, and comprehensive leadership-building opportunities, especially in rural and smaller districts. And few school systems have consistent standards for the AP role that align with its function as a pipeline to the principalship.

To thrive, APs must take charge of their growth—seeking mentorship, joining leadership networks, and engaging in reflective practice, says McGuire, leader of NAESP’s Assistant Principal Community of Practice.

Navigating Imposter Syndrome

Despite their growing influence, many APs struggle quietly with self-doubt. Imposter syndrome often creeps in—especially for those new to the role or facing high-stakes leadership expectations. This can manifest as not feeling qualified enough or hesitating to assert one’s opinions among more seasoned leaders.

“Sometimes you get imposter syndrome,” says Andy Jacks, principal of Ellis Elementary School in Manassas, Virginia. “It’s OK. Just be a mirror for [your colleagues]. Tell them what they did and what they could grow in and try next. I don’t know that they’re always looking for us to give them all these fixes and answers. Sometimes they’re just looking for a thought partner.”

Strategies to lessen your feelings of imposter syndrome while boosting your relationship with your staff include:

• Be helpful. Teaching is a physical job. One minute, you’re on the rug with students, and another, you’re moving boxes. Make sure your staff knows you’ll help when you can, or that you’ll find them help when they need it.
• Let teachers lead. When you go for an observation—especially if it’s in an area you’re not as familiar with—ask them what they’d like feedback on.
• Know your stuff. Take every opportunity you can for professional development. Learn the curriculum and the tools that teachers use so you can help and support them.
• Participate in meetings. One way to help yourself learn is to sit in on teachers’ team meetings as an active participant rather than an observer.

“They should see you support them in ways that they need at that time,” says Jacks. “If you’re giving feedback and you wait three weeks to give it, that’s not helping anybody. Give it to them in real time and say, ‘You know what? I struggled with that, too.’ ”

Thriving as an Assistant Principal

The assistant principalship holds immense promise, not just as a steppingstone but also as a transformational leadership role. By embracing professional growth, instructional leadership, and emotional resilience, APs can shape their future—and the future of education.

Krysia Gabenski is editorial director at NAESP.