Leading Adult Learning: Building Capacity in Individuals, Teams, and Systems

Support adult growth and development to navigate complex challenges and build thriving teams, and school and district communities.

In our highly complex, ever-shifting world, building human capacity remains one of the most powerful responsibilities—and transformative opportunities—of educational leaders. Grounded in more than thirty years of research and the understanding that adults make sense of their work and experiences in diverse ways, this new, fully revised and expanded edition of Leading Adult Learning helps you tailor your leadership to meet educators where they are—and differentiate support in meaningful ways. Leaders have comments that this developmental approach is one of the "greatest levers of change."

Features of this second edition include:

• Fully-updated takes on four, research-based "pillar practices" for growth—teaming, providing leadership roles, mentoring, and collegial inquiry—that can help educators build the cognitive, relational, and emotional capacity to teach and lead with genuine care
• Fresh, real-world stories and case studies that illustrate how educators are applying these pillar practices in today’s contexts, including hybrid and online environments
• Even more practical protocols and tools designed to support deep reflection, meaningful and courageous dialogue, and authentic collaboration in teams, schools, and systems that 
• Grounded in current research and best practices, and aligned with Learning Forward’s standards to support effective, high quality professional learning ensuring your strategies are responsive to today′s educational realities.

By intentionally caring for the development of your staff, you cultivate the resilient, collaborative cultures they need to thrive. Ultimately, when the adults in your educational ecosystem grow, your students are the ones who truly benefit.

• Publication date: 29 September 2026
• Page count: 560
• Dimensions: Height 280 mm; Width 217 mm; Thickness 30 mm
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781071970362