The Power of Collective Teacher Efficacy: The Building Leadership Team’s Role in Leading the Way

John Hattie’s research has made one thing abundantly clear: Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) is one of the most significant influences on student achievement. When teachers believe that, together, they can positively impact student learning, their collective power becomes unstoppable. But this belief doesn’t materialize on its own. It’s built - one team, one conversation, and one success at a time.

For school leaders, the journey to building CTE begins with an often-overlooked yet critical group: the Building Leadership Team (BLT). By modeling what an effective, collaborative team looks like at this level, school leaders set the tone and expectations for how department or grade-level teams will function throughout the school. Simply put, the building leadership team needs to make its own cohesiveness and productivity, the products of collective efficacy, are clearly visible to faculty and staff if they’re going to buy into it themselves. 

Here’s how school leaders can use their BLT as the launching pad for creating a culture of efficacy across their school.

1. Lead by Example: The Principal as a Model Collaborator

The school leader’s role in fostering CTE starts with how they engage with their BLT. If a leader expects teachers to trust one another, share accountability, and work collaboratively, the leader must model these behaviors themselves.

• Demonstrate Vulnerability: Admit when you don’t have all the answers, and that you want to continue learning and growing to be a better leader every day. Show that growth and learning are valued at every level of the organization.

• Prioritize Listening: Actively listen to the ideas, concerns, and solutions offered by the BLT. Make it clear that all voices matter by not just listening and commending them for speaking up, but by taking action to enact their feedback into the school.

• Model a Growth Mindset: When faced with challenges, frame them as opportunities for everyone (yourself included) to learn and grow. Your response to setbacks will set the tone for your team’s resilience.

2. Build a Shared Vision and Purpose

An effective BLT is more than a collection of individuals; it’s a cohesive unit driven by a shared purpose. As the school leader, it’s your responsibility to unite the team around a common vision for student success.

• Clarify Goals: Collaboratively establish clear, realistic and measurable goals that align with your school’s mission. This shared focus helps anchor discussions and decisions.

• Reinforce Collective Responsibility: Emphasize that the BLT’s work impacts the entire school community, creating a ripple effect on teacher teams and, ultimately, students. It takes work from each and every person on the team - not just its leader, and not just individuals, but everyone working together.

3. Establish Norms for Collaboration

The behaviors and practices modeled in the BLT meetings will shape how teacher teams approach their work. To cultivate trust and collaboration:

• Develop Shared Norms: Work with the BLT to establish norms for how meetings are conducted, decisions are made, and conflicts are resolved.

• Create Psychological Safety: Foster an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas, take risks, and offer constructive feedback. Even if you don’t agree with an idea, make it clear that you value hearing others’ voices and thoughts, and show your openness to new ideas by acting on them. 

• Ensure Equitable Participation: Encourage all members to contribute and ensure that dominant voices don’t overshadow quieter team members. Take feedback equally from each member, and if any issues arise, discuss them calmly and privately to ensure trust and psychological safety. 

4. Use Evidence to Drive Decisions

Effective teams rely on data, not assumptions. In the BLT, make the use of evidence a standard practice to build trust in the process and outcomes:

• Engage in Collaborative Data Analysis: Model how to analyze student performance data and use it to inform instructional decisions.

• Celebrate Growth: Publicly highlight successes—even small ones—to reinforce the belief that the team’s efforts are making a difference.

• Reflect and Adapt: Model and encourage ongoing reflection, and be willing to pivot strategies when necessary.

5. Build the Capacity of BLT Members

Your BLT members are your leadership multipliers. By building their capacity to lead, you empower them to replicate effective practices within their own teams:

• Provide Leadership Training: Offer research-based professional development on facilitation, conflict resolution, and fostering collaboration. Better yet, allow BLT members to bring you PD opportunities that they think would benefit the team!

• Coach and Support: Meet individually with BLT members to offer structured guidance and feedback tailored to their leadership needs.

• Encourage Peer Support: Create opportunities for BLT members to learn from one another (and you to learn from them!) by sharing successes and challenges.

6. Celebrate and Scale Successes

As the BLT models collaboration and achieves results, showcase their successes to the broader school community:

• Publicly Acknowledge Efforts: Highlight the BLT’s achievements in staff meetings, newsletters, or professional development sessions.

• Share Best Practices: Encourage BLT members to showcase successful strategies and processes with their respective teacher teams.

• Create Momentum: Use the BLT’s success as a catalyst to inspire other teams to embrace collective efficacy.

Collective Teacher Efficacy is the key to unlocking the full potential of your staff and students. By focusing on the Building Leadership Team as the foundation for this work, school leaders can model the collaboration, trust, and shared purpose necessary for success. Remember: what the BLT practices at the leadership level will cascade to every department and grade-level team in the school. Lead with intention, and watch your school’s culture transform—one team at a time.

How have you seen this cycle play out in your own work or your work with others?