Your top result:

The Hurricane

When a school or district suffers from a massive crisis or hits rock bottom after years of underperformance, the Hurricane—also referred to as the Fixer—is called in to save the day. Every Hurricane has a specific niche, whether it’s pulling districts out of budget deficits, building positive school cultures, reducing the achievement gap, or turning around negative test score trends.

The Hurricane won’t be around for long, but his or her tenure will be marked by a whirlwind of change accompanied by a healthy dose of personality Hurricanes are known for certain things because they’ve done those things, and they’ve done them well. But visibility is not always a guarantee. That’s why Hurricanes often excel at the fine art of personal branding. There will always be schools and districts looking to patch up some of the more common problems—it’s up to the Hurricane to make sure his or her name will come up in the search for a resolution.

Hurricanes are tireless project managers who are more likely to spend their time mobilizing people and getting their hands dirty than they are to sit in meeting rooms mulling over strategy. This is the ultimate “get it done” leadership type, disruptions be damned.

Expertise, communication, and indomitable force of will are the hallmarks of a Hurricane. These are the Wild West lawmen who ride into town on their rugged old stallions, restore order, and ride out again with the setting sun. When a district is in dire need of a turnaround, few leaders offer a better option.
 

What the kids see

Kids are a lot more sensitive to school culture than we give them credit for, and they’ll pick up on the changes a Hurricane is trying to make. Depending on how controversial those changes are, the result can range anywhere from curiosity to distrust. Due to the Hurricane’s constant need for tangible progress, these edleaders won’t find themselves in the learning environment as often as some of their peers. When they do put themselves out there, they don’t always enjoy an authentic experience, as front-line staff and students alike may wonder whether there is an ulterior motive to the Hurricane’s presence.
 

Potential pitfalls

The same traits that make the Hurricane a go-to option when the status quo needs to be disrupted make it harder for this leadership type to last more than three or four years in any one location. Part of that has to do with the Hurricane’s need to fix things, but it’s just as often a result of the Hurricane wearing out his or her welcome. The dominant, micromanaging, part of a Hurricane’s personality does not age well.

Because the Hurricane has his or her proverbial eggs in one basket, the margin for error is slim. If a Hurricane’s reputation Is built on his or her ability to raise graduation rates, any downward trend will immediately call that expertise into question. If budget shortfalls are the Hurricane’s niche, he or she better demonstrate fiscal responsibility at all times. Life as a Hurricane can be incredibly rewarding when everything falls into place, but these leaders must always be prepared to pivot.

 

Your top result:

The Futurist

In a field notorious for its resistance to change, the leaders working to vault school systems into the future tend to stand out in a crowd. The Futurist is a starry-eyed visionary who refuses to let education lag behind the private sector in anything, whether that means internal culture, physical workspaces, or the latest technology.

Futurists spend a lot of their time working against the status quo, but their purpose is not change for its own sake. When these leaders see the path to a better future for their teams, their learners, or their communities, they are more interested in moving things along than in sitting down to talk about it.

Futurists are very much connected to the research, both in and out of educational circles. Whether it’s a new approach to scheduling, a different format for professional development, or an examination of emerging technology in the classroom, the Futurist is always looking for the next big breakthrough.

Knowledge, foresight, and disruption are the hallmarks of a Futurist. These leaders must remain agile—those in whom the analyst trait is strongest lean heavily on the data to guide their course corrections, while the more emotion-oriented Futurists will rely on observation and feedback.
 

What the kids see

The Futurist is a strong candidate for “coolest” edleader in the eyes of his or her students. Futurists will want to see their latest innovations in action at every opportunity, and their fascination with technology will often find them testing cool new gadgets in the company of students. Because of this, Futurists will embody a welcome surprise to kids who are otherwise frustrated with their school’s inability to keep up with the pace they are setting. Futurists are the flag-bearers for STEM, and are at their best when encouraging students to pursue their 21st century hobbies and passions beyond the typical boundaries of a K-12 environment.
 

Potential pitfalls

Change is often necessary, but it’s rarely easy for anyone on the front lines. Futurists must go out of their way to consider the human impact of their vision, or risk alienating those whose buy-in and support they need to bring it to life. The hardest challenge for a Futurist is dialing back the revolution to more manageable levels. The second-hardest challenge is communicating the “why” behind it all.

The curse of the Futurist is the clarity of his or her vision. With the end goal so clearly visible in the mind’s eye, Futurists sometimes fail to give proportionate attention to the mundane steps required to get there. This also makes it hard for the Futurist to empathize with those who struggle to grasp that vision without something a little more tangible to hold on to. These factors can saddle unwary Futurists with reputations as head-in-the-clouds dreamers who can’t get things done. Self-awareness and patience don’t always come easy for Futurists, but both traits can help them steer clear of the more common traps of this leadership style.

 

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The Gardener

Gardeners represent the ultimate people-first edleadership type. These leaders are adept at planting seeds of inspiration, cultivating talent, and reaping the collective rewards of continuous improvement. The Gardener’s endgame is to make people better, either through direct coaching and feedback or a series of growth-supporting structures.

Gardeners are devoted to the idea that if you want to improve an outcome, you start with the people and the process will follow. Whether that means improving learning outcomes by improving teachers or building external perception by building the customer service skills of public-facing staff, the Gardener’s philosophy extends to a surprising number of priorities and initiatives.

Gardeners believe in the power of knowledge, support, and learning networks to overcome any obstacle. It is not unusual for a Gardener to realign the org chart, replace tech coaches with instructional coaches, and flatten the feedback loop wherever possible. These leaders will work to install a strong, consistent coaching culture in every campus and department.

Empathy, frankness, and transparency are the hallmarks of a Gardener. It can be difficult for some people to acknowledge their own areas of opportunity, but the Gardener excels at dispelling notions of fear and replacing them with trust. When demonstrated over a long enough period of time, even the most defensive, cautious types will find value in what the Gardener brings to the table.
 

What the kids see

The Gardener is a beacon of positivity in the hallways, which should come as no surprise given the relationship-building focus of this leadership type. Gardeners will know more students’ names, interests, and personalities than many of their peers, and they will go out of their way to foster a familial culture in every classroom and every school they touch.
 

Potential pitfalls

As one of the more specialized leadership types, Gardeners run the risk of becoming too single-minded. They get the best results when surrounded by those with strong operational skillsets who can manage the logistical challenges of change. The Gardener’s greatest challenge will be breaking through years and years of fear-based barriers to make headway on the idea of open, honest, and well-intentioned feedback.

Inexperienced Gardeners will struggle to give critical feedback, sometimes losing their message by wrapping difficult conversations in a mountain of fluff. Ironically, this constant struggle between what’s best for the individual and what’s best for the organization can lead the Gardener to lose sight of the forest through the trees. To stay ahead of this problem, Gardeners must be willing to be frank when the situation calls for it and emotionally detach themselves from specific initiatives.

 

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The Phenom

Known in some circles as “the Unicorn,” the Phenom is born from a rare blend of genius, drive, and opportunity. Phenoms are remarkably adept at climbing ladders—so much so that their rise to the top tends to raise eyebrows. These are the generational pacesetters whose common priorities and skills will often serve as a harbinger of major culture shifts.

Phenoms will “rewrite the playbook “early in their careers, surpassing even the loftiest proficiency and productivity benchmarks at every turn while completely reinventing age-old processes, job descriptions, and expectations. Roadblocks and glass ceilings are mere nuisances to the Phenom. If existing organizational structures serve as impediments, the Phenom will either ignore them, change them, or start looking for opportunities where they don’t exist.

In leadership roles, Phenoms take that same kind of personal drive and transfer it to those around them. It is the ultimate “lead by example” leadership type. Phenoms hold their teams to a standard of excellence exceeded only by what they expect from themselves. Just when an employee feels like they’ve reached a new level of personal growth, the Phenom will swoop in to reset the bar even higher. Phenoms are never content—every success is just a gateway to the next challenge.

Eccentricity, productivity, and polarization are the hallmarks of a Phenom. Deeply entrenched competitiveness and unattainable personal standards combine to thrust the Phenom into a never-ending struggle for bigger, better, faster, and stronger. Complacency will never be an issue.
 

What the kids see

The Phenom’s approach to standards (set the bar higher and keep it there) will have a heavy influence on school culture. Some students will rise to the challenge and thrive in this environment, while others will struggle in the absence of a more empathetic approach. Phenoms can preempt those challenges by surrounding themselves with more diplomatic personality types to assist with some of those direct student interactions.
 

Potential pitfalls

As the ultimate boat rockers, Phenoms will run into trouble when the disruption they cause starts to outweigh the results they achieve. Because of this, Phenoms struggle mightily in change-resistant organizations and those where compliance is valued over creativity.

It can be difficult for Phenoms to empathize with low-performing peers, because “if I can do it, they should too.” Longer-tenured colleagues are likely to resent the Phenom for what is often seen as overenthusiasm or even naivete, especially when the Phenom’s results call into question everything the incumbent employees have built their reputations on.

Phenoms too often flame out in spectacular fashion when their mile-a-minute pursuit of the impossible finally catches up to them. As such, this edleader struggles mightily to stay in the same role for more than a few years.

 

Your top result:

The Ambassador

In the age of choice, the Ambassador is a more desirable, more important leadership type than ever before. Ambassadors are the entertainers of the edleadership universe, bringing unmatched passion, enthusiasm, and charisma to the table with the goal of telling the best possible stories of their districts, schools, and classrooms.

Ambassadors lead from the front and center, whether that means starring in a weekly YouTube show, promoting successes on social media, or writing a regular blog on the district website. They never shy from the spotlight, but when it’s on them, they have mastered the art of deflecting positive attention to colleagues, peers, and students. Ambassadors don’t need to fake it—they genuinely care about what they are doing and who they’re doing it for.

People love to work for an Ambassador because of the bubble of positive surrounding them at all times. Ambassadors at the district leadership level also tend to craft the clearest, most inspirational mission statements, making it easy for the entire community to rally around a shared purpose. This innate sense of branding is beneficial to any district with aspirations of improving the talent level of job candidates and increasing student enrollment.

Ambassadors tend to be humbler than some of their counterparts, but it would be a mistake to see them as pushovers. The degree of caring that makes them so good at what they do also manifests as fierce loyalty and dogged determination to improve the experience of all stakeholders. The Ambassador is diplomatic to a certain point, but knows when to put the hammer down if people either fail to adhere to the mission or actively work to sabotage it.
 

What the kids see

What don’t the kids see? Ambassadors are the faces of their institutions, both internally and externally. Don’t be surprised to see these leaders reading books in a kindergarten classroom one day and taking selfies with students the next. Students will enjoy a feeling of direct connection thanks to the Ambassador’s strong social media presence and innate understanding of multiple forms of communication.
 

Potential pitfalls

To predict whether an Ambassador will have a successful run, one need only look at how well and how quickly his or her stakeholders buy in. Because Ambassadors often throw themselves into their goals with reckless abandon, they must be very deliberate about staying attuned with how their efforts are received. Without keen self-awareness, the Ambassador tends to take on too much too soon, alienating the very people who are essential to his or her vision.

Ambassadors are at their best when they invite multiple voices to the table and remain cognizant of the omnipresent need for “us” and “we” over “I” and “they.” Authenticity will always be a challenge—is the face you present to the outside world an accurate representation of the culture you’ve built, or an idealized account of where you want that culture to go? If the Ambassador is saying one thing and everyone else in his or her vicinity is saying another, the honeymoon may well be over.

 

Your top result:

The General

It’s easy for younger generations to cast old-guard mentalities in a negative light. We’ve been doing it for centuries. The General weathers such criticisms with the knowing stoicism of someone who has seen it all a thousand times before and come out unscathed. Generals are the master tacticians of edleadership, deploying resources where they will be best utilized and seeing projects through to completion before moving on to the next task.

The General may not have time for matrix org charts or 360-degree feedback loops, but if the alternative is a consistent workplace, a stable learning environment, and a culture of accountability, is that really such a bad thing? Generals are finely attuned to the strengths and opportunities of their people and structures. They will, whenever possible, put staff and students in a position to succeed, but with the implicit expectation that everyone else will hold up their ends of the bargain.

Generals expect commitment, effort, and loyalty from those around them. The sound of excuses will be like nails on a chalkboard. People who enjoy clarity and order will appreciate working with a General—what you see is what you get. For those who come from more chaotic environments or who prefer to know where they stand, the General’s leadership style will be a breath of fresh air.

Generals are not opposed to innovation, but they will not tolerate chaos. “Proper channels” are important, not for the sake of bureaucracy, but because the General trusts his or her leadership team and has set up hierarchies based on an intentional system of checks and balances.
 

What the kids see

Make no mistake, the General genuinely wants what’s best for kids—that is the underlying motive behind everything this leader has built. To the students, the General will be perceived as a strong authority figure who accepts no nonsense in behavioral matters. The General’s emphasis on accountability will typically lead to a no-excuses culture in which students are held to high standards without a lot of coddling.
 

Potential pitfalls

The General is not an ideal leader for those who place a high priority on change and empowerment. The General’s penchant for micromanaging (either direct or as a result of trickle-down pressure) is a double-edged sword—on the one hand, it results in consistency and discipline throughout the district; on the other, it can alienate those who prefer a more hands-off leadership style.

Generals are at their best when they adhere to a “defined autonomy” environment, using their strategic experience to craft a strong, clearly defined framework, then giving each successive layer of leadership the freedom to achieve their own objectives within said framework.

 

Your top result:

The Empath

The Empath may not actually be psychic, but as the ultimate people person, this type of edleader wins the hearts and minds of communities by understanding what is in those hearts and minds on the very deepest of levels. The Empath is a firm believer in the power of the collective and has a way of keeping every stakeholder engaged, for the benefit of the entire school community.

Empaths are an interesting study in contrasts. They can connect with anyone, but they’re not especially extroverted. They analyze to the extreme, but they aren’t big on quantitative data. They inspire others, but they often do it indirectly and behind the scenes. The end result at the organizational level is a well-oiled, people-driven machine for which the Empath doesn’t necessarily get the credit he or she deserves.

Empaths excel at developing shared ownership for major initiatives and creating a consistent, branded experience throughout their schools or districts. Because they rarely overlook even the smallest stakeholder groups, they are much better at anticipating potential problems than some of their peers. Empaths will also have an easier time achieving sustained buy-in for their ideas, if only because they’ve already done the legwork to close loopholes and address concerns before anything new is rolled out.

Empaths may be among the quieter people in the room, but when they speak, their words carry the weight of Freud’s ego—a much-needed counterbalance to the id/super-ego motivators of their peers. Their ability to read the room and identify individual leverage points also makes them masters of the art of persuasion. In other lines of work, Empaths make for sneaky great salespeople. In edleadership, Empaths can nudge entire school communities forward without anybody realizing they’re being nudged at all.
 

What the kids see

The Empath is terrific at making every student feel understood and appreciated. Empaths know their students’ names, their struggles, and their potential. Their natural ability to assess and react works well with their (often dry) sense of humor, pulling smiles out of even the most stubborn kids and fostering a sense of welcoming and camaraderie in even the briefest interactions.
 

Potential pitfalls

Early in their careers, Empaths tend to learn just how impossible it is to please everyone all the time, but that won’t stop them from trying. If Empaths are not careful, the emphasis they place on collaboration and universal input can get in the way of organizational agility, making the planning stage seem interminable for even the simplest initiatives.

The Empath is most successful in the company of pragmatists—those who will facilitate the information-gathering phases and push their Empath leader to take action, even if it means breaking things into smaller, phased versions of the finished project. They can also amplify their message beyond what comes naturally by winning over the most visible, influential champions in their classrooms and/or campuses.

 

Your top result:

The Scholar

As the academic lifer of the edleadership crowd, the Scholar knows the past, present, and future of educational reform better than anyone. Scholars are not just vaguely familiar with the research they frequently cite, they know it inside and out. Their attention to detail and healthy skepticism combine to make the Scholar less likely to get caught up in the reform du jour and more likely to focus on the things with the most proven track record of success.

Never one to get caught up in groupthink, the Scholar has an innate ability to sniff out bad sources and bad ideas, whether that means looking beyond a study’s conclusion to critique its methodology, identifying any sources of funding with vested interest, or simply putting popular buzzwords into the context of real-world practicality. Scholars don’t have a lot of time for pep talks, inspirational quotes, or educational “rock stars” who have built massive followings by latching on to sometimes-dubious trends.

Scholars are driven by logic and rationalism—rarely will they make a decision without sound data to back it up. They also tend to be more agile than some of their peers, simply because they are so in tune with what’s happening outside their personal school or district bubbles. They won’t necessarily jump at every opportunity to serve as a pioneer, but they also won’t be deterred by fear of change.

If the research is sound and a concept seems like a good fit for a given situation, the Scholar will want to start gathering data as soon as possible. Because of this, Scholars tend to lack patience for bureaucracy and handholding, preferring instead to review and adapt iteratively. One of the biggest benefits of working for or with a Scholar is the objectiveness of his or her feedback—a Scholar rarely has time for personal grudges or emotion-clouded judgment.
 

What the kids see

The Scholar is one of the least visible personality types—maybe it’s because Scholars tend toward the introverted side of the spectrum, or maybe it’s because they feel their time can be more valuable elsewhere. In either case, students will benefit every day from the supports and structures the Scholar has championed, thought it will often come at the expense of the face-to-face interaction other personality types might enjoy more.
 

Potential pitfalls

It’s a polarizing world out there, with the omnipresent temptation of validation and confirmation bias. Once the Scholar starts taking sides, the same powers of research and rationalization that got them here can be used to bolster weaker ideas and/or extend the duration of impractical trials even when everyone else can see there is no chance of success.

Scholars are encouraged to avoid dismissing anecdotal evidence out of hand. Any edleader with enough experience can attest to the fact that “looks good on paper” doesn’t always translate to what’s best for kids. There are only so many factors one can account for, and no two communities or sets of circumstances ever produce identical results.

 

Your top result:

The Anchor

Edleadership doesn’t always have to be complicated. Sometimes, the only thing a school or district needs is a little stability. The Anchor is just that—a reliable, consistent, and strong presence to be leaned on in good times and bad.

Even in the most turbulent of times, Anchors are calm, cool, and collected, reducing the collective stress level of every room they enter. The Anchor has a rare gift for perspective, understanding that the fires of today are never as bad as they seem. “We’ll get through it” is a common refrain in meetings with these edleaders.

Anchors aren’t always the best option for a quick fix, but there’s no one you’d rather have at the helm in the long term. They’re more likely than their peers to be fixtures in the community, making them fully invested in even the most minute details of their profession. What’s good for the school or district is also what’s good for the Anchor.

The Anchor’s deep-rooted connections with his or her people often result in strong, clearly defined cultures. Community partnerships, including apprenticeship programs, project-based learning opportunities, and collaboration with local business and government leaders are hallmarks of Anchor-led schools and districts.
 

What the kids see

The Anchor is an open-door kind of person, a benefit extended to staff, students, and families alike. Anchors are more likely than their peers to engage in prolonged conversations with little purpose other than to get to know the person on the other side of the table a little better. While Anchors may not always be quick to action, they will make students feel valued and listened-to, a useful trait for a wide range of personalities.
 

Potential pitfalls

Some people have a hard time coming to terms with the Anchor’s drama-averse personality—the inability of more fiery personality types to relate can lead them to mistakenly believe the Anchor is aloof, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because stability is such an important value to an Anchor, change does not always come easy. Anchors are much better maintainers than their peers, but they’re not quite as adept at building things from scratch. The most successful Anchors are surrounded by connected innovators and project managers who are fully capable of implementing change within the Anchor’s prebuilt framework.