Leadership Impact: Key Insights from Our Comprehensive Survey
We are proud of the growth our leaders report.
Across five years of longitudinal Academy data, participants report significant gains in leadership confidence, effectiveness, and capacity. Just as important, many describe growth not only as leaders, but as people.
The Executive Education Academy is built around five core leadership competencies. These competencies provide the foundation for the learning, coaching, reflection, and assessment participants experience throughout the program.
Executive Education Academy Comprehensive Survey Results
Each participant is asked on our comprehensive survey to rank their abilities concerning each competency before and after the program on a scale of 1 to 10.
The table below summarizes how the ratings improved vastly after the academy. Note the overall shift from ratings of 8-10 before and after the academy.
Below are charts for each competency and how participants rated themselves before and after the academy. The blue bars are pre-academy ratings. The green bars are post academy ratings.
Below each chart, the percentage shift to 8-10 from before and after the academy are indicated.
Post-program, participants were 3.8 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Leading Others, reflecting a 275% growth in high-confidence responses.
Post-program, participants were 4.3 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Leading Change, reflecting a 325% growth in high-confidence responses.
Post-program, participants were 3.7 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Leading Stakeholders, reflecting a 273% growth in high-confidence responses.
Post-program, participants were 3.0 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Leading the Organization, reflecting a 197% growth in high-confidence responses.
Post-program, participants were 3.4 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Leading Results, reflecting a 240% growth in high-confidence responses.
We also asked our participants to rank their Overall Leadership Ability before and after the academy.
Post-program, participants were 6.1 times more likely to rate themselves 8-10 in Overall Leadership Ability, reflecting a 507% growth in high-confidence responses.
Interpreting Confidence and Growth
Across all five core competencies, leaders reported dramatic gains in confidence, most notably in Leading Change (a 325% increase in 8-10 ratings) and Overall Leadership Ability .
These shifts indicate that our Academy is not only building capacity in technical leadership skills but also significantly advancing leaders’ belief in their ability to influence systems and outcomes.
While the quantitative data give a strong view of impact, qualitative replies indicate just as powerful transformation for our participants.
Themes from Qualitative Responses
Based on participant feedback based on the Executive Education Academy, the following qualitative themes emerged. These responses provide compelling evidence of the academy’s transformational impact on school leaders. From the prompt below, Seven Themes are accompanied by direct participant quotes that highlight the emotional and professional shifts experienced.
Prompt: What are the most powerful takeaways for you concerning your entire experience with us at the Executive Education Academy?
Self-Awareness and Personal Growth
Participants described gaining deeper insight into themselves as individuals and leaders, developing self-trust, and finding new meaning through reflective practices.
“Knowing myself and reflecting on practice.”
“I have learned a lot about myself throughout this process.”
“My most powerful takeaway is knowing that I can trust myself to learn new things.”
“This has been the most reflective and active I’ve been in my career, and it has been so rewarding.”
Intentional and Reflective Leadership
Many emphasized the importance of leading with clarity, purpose, and intentional self-awareness, identifying these as key drivers of effective leadership.
“Be a reflective leader, lead with intention, take care of yourself.”
“Being more self-aware, putting my needs first, and overall strategies for communicating and leading teams.”
“Lead Self First before others.”
Value of Executive Coaching
The executive coaching experience was repeatedly cited as one of the most transformative elements, providing tailored support, reflection, and personal accountability.
“The coaching experience made a HUGE impact on my leadership.”
“The 360 survey and having the executive coaching sessions with my personal coach were most powerful for me.”
“Wow, there were a lot but I truly learned so much from the executive coaching sessions.”
Self-Care and Wellness
Participants highlighted the program’s focus on wellness and emotional regulation, learning to prioritize self-care as foundational to sustained leadership.
“Self-care and reflective practices being shared.”
_“BREATHE — Just breathe — In our first session with Kim, she taught us the power of breathing.”
“Take care of myself and what I need so that I can better take care of others.”_
Empowerment and Confidence
Several leaders left the program feeling more empowered, grounded, and intentional, prepared to lead with confidence and authenticity.
“I am ready to lead, and the experience has confirmed that.”
“This program works on the whole leader.”
“I will be more intentional each day with my interactions on the campus.”
Impact on Others and Leadership Practice
Many connected their personal development with their ability to positively influence others, expressing a renewed commitment to effective and empathetic leadership.
“Showing up as our best selves allows us to see the best in others.”
“Investing in myself will benefit the people that I serve!”
“Leadership takes work and balance.”
Appreciation for the Program
Participants praised the program’s quality, structure, and attention to detail, describing it as comprehensive, supportive, and exceptionally well-executed.
“This was a comprehensive approach to school leadership.”
“Great meals and honoring time. EXCELLENT work!”
“Very impactful leadership program. There is something here for every leader.”
Final Thoughts
These results confirm what our participants consistently tell us: this is transformational leadership development. The growth we see, particularly the dramatic increases in leaders rating themselves 8-10 across multiple competencies, reflects a deep shift in how leaders perceive their own ability to lead, navigate change, influence others, and drive results.
This matters. According to Albert Bandura’s well-known research on self-efficacy, individuals who believe in their capacity to execute actions necessary for success are more resilient, more effective, and more likely to persist through challenges.
In school leadership, high self-efficacy has been directly linked to better instructional leadership, greater teacher retention, and improved student outcomes. When leaders believe in their ability to lead well, they lead better. Afterall, we always say, “Leadership is an inside job.”
Aside from building robust self-efficacy, the broader research reinforces what our participants demonstrate:
- Self-awareness and emotional intelligence are foundational to effective leadership. Leaders with high emotional intelligence build trust, navigate conflict, and create resonant school cultures (Goleman, 1998).
- Reflective practice fuels adaptive leadership. As Schön (1983) noted, reflection-in-action helps leaders improve in real time, even in complex, high-stakes settings.
- Structured leadership development builds systems capacity. District investments in cohort-based learning and executive coaching lead to stronger pipelines and improved instructional leadership (Leithwood et al., 2020).
- Belonging and peer learning matter. As Wenger (1998) observed, adult learning in community fosters identity, resilience, and deeper engagement.
- Well-being is a performance strategy, not a luxury. Leaders who care for their emotional and physical health lead more sustainably and inspire more loyal, effective teams (Boyatzis, Smith & Blaize, 2006).
This is what our data indicates. By intentionally investing in the “whole leader,” we see significant gains in both competence and confidence, two drivers of sustained leadership excellence. These gains are the foundation for lasting cultural and instructional improvement across schools and systems.
We remain committed since 2008, first as REEP and now as Leadership Partners, to helping leaders in public and private schools become the best version of themselves, so they can create meaningful change, build stronger teams, and retain those they lead.
None of this would be possible without our partnership with Executive Education in the Jones Graduate School of Business. They are as committed to supporting education as we are. We are grateful for the enduring partnership we have with them.
We invite you to connect with us and explore our next cohort or inquire about our suite of executive coaching services.
Leaders receive a credential from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business at the culmination of the program.
