Portrait of a Leader

A shared vision for the skills educators need to drive innovation and lead education systems change through personalized, competency-based learning. By elevating these attributes, the Lead for Learners network aims to support, grow and celebrate the development of education leaders – from the classroom to the district level.

The Portrait of a Leader defines the attributes necessary for educators to effectively and sustainably lead systems change. Rooted in the principles of personalized, competency-based learning and collaborative, human-centered approaches, the Portrait serves as a guide for the qualities that will empower educators to drive innovation and make a lasting impact. The Portrait of a Leader is more than a set of leadership skills; it’s a collective vision for the qualities needed to lead education into the future.

Cover to Portrait of a Leader, Shades of bright pink fading to sky blue with circle in the same color palette across it, some of the circles have portraits of adults

Download the Portrait of a Leader

Are you ready to take the next step in your leadership journey? Download the Portrait of a Leader to explore the attributes and reflect on your personal leadership development.

Portrait of a Leader in Action

Teacher Fellows Podcast hosts Ryan Rarick and Lauren Merkley speak with Syd Young about the Portrait of a Leader framework, designed to empower educators to become transformational leaders.

Key Competencies of a Modern-day Leader

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, host Rebecca Midles talks with Laura Hilger, Carmen Coleman and Estrada explore the essential competencies needed to lead in today’s dynamic learning environments—highlighting adaptability, learner-centered mindsets and systems thinking.

Leadership and the Portrait of a Leader

In this episode, host Keri Beach chats with educational leaders Casey Lefler and Laura Hilger about their leadership journeys, what it takes to be an effective educational leader, and the Portrait of a Leader resource.

Webinar: 5 Skills Educators Need

Education leaders from Nevada, Arizona and Texas explore the Portrait of a Leader and its role in professional growth and development in this webinar.

A group of educators gather by posters on the wall for brainstorming

Leadership for Personalized, Competency-based Learning

Learn more about the collaborative creation of the Portrait of a Leader at Aurora Institute.

Three women of varying ages and race examine a chart on the wall with sticky notes attached

Skills and Mindsets for Transformational Leadership

The efforts of engaging multiple groups to ensure that the Portrait of a Leader reflected the shared traits of those leading through personalized, competency-based learning.

As a steering committee, we recognized a pressing need for a unifying framework to guide the development of leaders equipped to manage transformational change in a sustainable and human-centered way. This resource meets that need. It is a call to action and a roadmap.

Estrada
Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Mesa Public Schools, Mesa, Arizona
Lead for Learners Network Steering Committee Member

Insights from the Field

Group of students around tables learning with their teacher guiding them independently

5 Strategies to Move from Teacher-centered to Learner-centered Classrooms

Five strategies to go from teacher- to learner-centered

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The Child IS Chief:
Honoring Student Identity and Agency

Students already have agency—our systems often place artificial caps on it.

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People gather around a wall of sitcky notes.

How Engaging with the Future Impacts Strategic Planning Today

Immersive futures experiences help participants explore possible futures of learning.

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Education has embraced this concept as a way of keeping school and student data visible and central to school decision making. If you are considering a data room, here are a few things to remember.

Data Rooms and Other Ideas About Data Use

Education has embraced this concept as a way of keeping school and student data visible and central to school decision…

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illustration of a teacher sitting on the floor reading along with young children in a classroom filled with books on bookshelves

The Role of the Teacher in a Personalized, Competency-based Classroom

Get answers to common questions about the role of the teacher in a personalized, competency based classroom.

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KnowledgeWorks works alongside teachers, school district leaders and communities to provide competency-based education implementation support and to assist in the scaling of a personalized, competency-based learning system tailored to each learning community.

Using Future Studies to Prepare Students for Life After School

Many people, especially – and tragically – many of our young learners, also lack a vision of the future for themselves.

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