Growing Confidence, Clarity, and Impact

Two female colleagues walking and talking on corridor of office or school.

For decades, educational researchers have established that highly skilled principals are a cornerstone of effective schools. However, how principals develop their leadership skills is lesser known, and most research has focused on new principals instead of sustained professional learning over time.

In an April 2026 Wallace Foundation report, researchers examined how principals continue to learn and develop their skills throughout their career.

Principals reported they prefer informal learning (seeking advice from colleagues, reading journal articles, attending conferences, visiting nearby schools, and listening to podcasts), which they say feels relevant and responsive to their immediate needs. However, district leaders expressed concern about the inconsistent quality of informal learning.

This tension points to the value of a certain type of professional learning for principals: executive coaching. Executive coaching combines the relevance principals crave with the quality districts expect in leadership development programs.

NEE Executive Coaching for School Leaders

The Network for Educator Effectiveness offers an executive coaching program designed to engage leaders in individualized, job-embedded coaching that addresses their unique needs. Leaders meet with an experienced PK-12 administrator who understands the daily realities of school leadership.

Working with an executive coach, school leaders become better equipped to evaluate staff with confidence, provide effective feedback to teachers, support teachers’ professional growth, and lead school improvement efforts.

Principals also meet in small groups with other leaders to form a professional learning community centered on refining their instructional leadership practices.

This approach allows leaders to focus on their specific goals — whether strengthening evaluation practices or navigating difficult feedback conversations — while receiving ongoing support throughout the school year.

What School Leaders Say About NEE Executive Coaching

Participants say NEE Executive Coaching leads to tangible gains in leadership confidence and effectiveness.

“The coaching was phenomenal. My feedback is specific and directly links teachers’ actions with student outcomes,” said Lacie Kolbe, assistant principal at Rolla High School. “My confidence is much higher, which has made it easier to have meaningful conversations with the teachers I evaluate.”

For new principals especially, this professional learning support is critical. Misti Yocum, PK-6 principal at Verona R‑7, shared that executive coaching helped her build confidence early in her leadership journey.

“My confidence has grown in my ability to lead my staff and grow them as educators,” she said. But, she added, “even if you are a NEE veteran, being able to hone your skills and collaborate with other principals has been a great experience.”

NEE’s model builds ongoing professional support for principals by providing recurring one-on-one coaching and facilitated collaboration with peer leaders, allowing principals to reflect, recalibrate, and grow over time.

When leaders invest in this type of professional growth, they are better equipped to support teachers, strengthen instruction, and foster a culture of continuous improvement that benefits staff and students alike.

For more information about NEE Executive Coaching, visit https://neeadvantage.com/nee-executive-coaching/.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) is a simple yet powerful comprehensive system for educator evaluation that helps educators grow, students learn, and schools improve. Developed by preK-12 practitioners and experts at the University of Missouri, NEE brings together classroom observation, student feedback, teacher curriculum planning, and professional development as measures of effectiveness in a secure online portal designed to promote educator growth and development.