The Season of Resignations: What It Reveals About Your Leadership

Jul 24, 2026

Connect

How to stay steady, lead transitions well, and protect your culture when people start leaving

If you’ve led a school for any amount of time, you already know what happens when spring hits.

The emails start coming in. Conversations shift. People you’ve invested in (some you expected, some you didn’t) start letting you know they’re moving on.

None of that is new.

What is often underestimated, though, is how much this season reveals about you as a leader. Not about the people who are leaving. About you.

It shows up in how you receive the news, how you talk about it, how quickly you move, and what your team experiences from you in the middle of it. Whether you realize it or not, your staff is paying close attention during this time as they try to understand what these changes mean for them and the school.

Resignation season is not a disruption to leadership. It is part of leadership.

The real question is whether you can stay steady when things start shifting.

Subscribe to keep reading this post

Already have an account? Log in

Why Your Feedback Isn't Changing Practice

You said it clearly. You said it kindly. So why are you having the same conversation again? You did the walkthrough. You had the conversation. You were clear about what needed to change, you were respectful, and you even followed up with an email. Two weeks later, you walk back into that classroom, and it looks exactly the same. It's tempting to decide the teacher isn't committed or isn't ...

Is It A Suggestion or An Expectation?

Why expectations without follow-through turn into suggestions, and what to build instead Picture the first week of school. You stood in front of your staff and laid out the expectations for the year. Learning targets posted and referenced in every classroom. Consistent hallway transitions. Data meeting norms everyone agreed to. People nodded. A few teachers took notes. You walked out of that P...

A Strong Start Doesn’t Mean Your Systems Are Strong Yet

There is a certain relief that comes when the first few days of school go well. Staff are back, students are moving through the building, transportation is running, classrooms are settled, and the systems you spent the summer planning seem to be doing exactly what you hoped they would do. After months of preparation, it is tempting to look around and think, We did it. And you should celebrate ...

The Season of Resignations: What It Reveals About Your Leadership

How to stay steady, lead transitions well, and protect your culture when people start leaving

Subscribe to keep reading this post

Lessons in School Leadership

Rebuild culture. Increase retention. Minimize overwhelm, and Reignite your passion for leadership.

Join Our Free Trial