You need a wide range of skills to be a great teacher, but of these skills a solid understanding of leadership and management is certainly one of the most important. Whether it is for career advancement or the basis for controlling a classroom of children, being able to lead is essential.

Leadership is particularly important for teachers because you don’t just need it for the management of other staff members (well, you will need it for that if you want a more senior role), but also for working in a classroom. Kids will respond to authority, and as a teacher it is essential that you project your authority onto your students so that they behave well and learn efficiently.

Learning leadership skills can be a bit of a grey area, as you’ll often find that those who are great leaders are people who were born with the skills and weren’t entirely learned. Still, every teacher will have the opportunity to learn about some leadership skills through their basic teacher training, and there are also a large number of supplementary workshops which schools can offer or you can decide to sign up for yourself.