Leadership is a topic studied from a variety of vantage points in a variety of disciplines including education . As a result , there are best practices in educational leadership that should exert significant influence on educational leaders . Which of the current best practices in leadership is most likely to be sustainable by educational leaders over the long term ? Why ? Leaders establish their professional practices through trial and error ; however , developing professional identity can help leaders refine the best practices within their professional norm . A professional identity i is a solidified framework that guide how one behaves , acts , and understands their work (Seemiller & Priest , 2017 ). Once a leader has established their professional identity , developing a skill set of best practices can become clearer . Leaders who are able to develop capacity within their staff can maintain longer , more fulfilling careers . Leaders can be comprised of a multitude of roles that may all be needed during a single interaction . By building capacity within the staff , leaders can depend on other to attain role that the staff may have not previously explored . Principals have very little effect on student outcomes ; however , teachers , as the greatest learning variables , improve their student success rate when supported through a more distributed leadership approach (Grootenboer & Hardy , 2015 ). Leaders who are able to lead as a team can be more successful than those who try to fulfill all the necessary components within a school Leaders should strive to create an environment that is balanced to stave off burnout for both leaders and teachers Leaders may soon face challenging situations that are easily overcome with the help a variety of staff members within the school . In summary , leaders should strive to build capacity within their staff to help build new leaders , stave off burnout , and increase student success within the school