Contents
- Book #1: Future Wise: Educating Our Children for a Changing World
- Book #2: The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools
- Book #3: The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity
- Book #4: AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders
- Book #5: Lessons of Hope: How to Fix Our Schools
- Book #6: The Power of AI for Educators: Revolutionize Teaching to Stay Competitive
- Book #7: Lead Like a PIRATE: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff
- Upgrade Your Library with These Educational Leadership Books
Reading 50 educational leadership books won't make you a better leader. Reading the RIGHT 7 will. The dirty secret of educational leadership development is MOST books are written for the industrial-age classroom. Ditch the hierarchical playbook. Embrace the decision design, cognitive clarity, and AI-augmented thinking fit for the 21st Century.
Think to your Monday morning walkthrough.
Half your teachers look like they're running on fumes. Kids are physically present but mentally checked-out. The technology you spent months implementing sits underused while proven strategies go nowhere.
The world moved. Education didn't. And every morning, you're left managing the gap.
Here's your school climate in a nutshell:
- Students Are Checking Out - Nearly half (46%) of teachers report that student engagement has declined compared to 2019
- Future-Prep Failure - 67% of students feel their education is not evolving to meet future needs
- Staff Nightmare - 86% of schools find it difficult to hire teachers, while over 60% of teachers are dissatisfied with their careers
- Burnout Epidemic - Three-quarters of K-12 educators are experiencing burnout, and 68% are considering leaving their jobs
- AI Without Rules - 93% of districts report AI adoption, but 60% of schools still lack AI policies and only half of school districts have trained their staff to use these tools
It's just not working.
And the dusty educational leadership textbooks on your bookshelf aren't working either. Selling solutions to problems that haven't been transformational since Netflix killed Blockbuster.
You don't need more industrial age theory. You need solutions built for principals leading schools in the age of AI.
Ready to get ahead of the educational curve? Here's our list of 7 educational leadership books that every modern principal should read.
Book #1: Future Wise: Educating Our Children for a Changing World

Author: David Perkins
TL;DR: Not everything matters - teach what does.
In Future Wise, Perkins tackles one of education’s most urgent questions: 'What’s worth teaching in today’s world?
He makes the case that too much of the current curriculum is irrelevant to students’ futures. Instead of focusing on superficial content coverage, Perkins urges leaders to help students build 'big understandings' - deep, transferable knowledge they’ll actually use.
Future Wise is a must-read for any school leader ready to prioritize cognitive clarity over content bloat. This is a masterclass in rethinking curricula so students are prepared for complexity, not just compliance.
Why it made our list? At Crossover, we never hide from the future. Future Wise does the same - giving leaders permission to throw out what doesn't work, keep what does, and build schools that are better prepared to focus on the right things.
Book #2: The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools

Author: Liz Wiseman, Lois N. Allen, Elise Foster
TL;DR: Stop focusing on being a genius. Start focusing on the geniuses around you.
The Multiplier Effect is all about why some leaders drain energy - and others multiply it.
Wiseman and her co-authors identify five key leadership disciplines that help school leaders amplify the intelligence and capability of their teams. This isn’t about pushing harder - it’s about working better.
About creating space for others to think deeply and own results.
Based on over 100 interviews with educational leaders, this guide shares how to recruit top teachers, cultivate debate-driven decisions, and foster an ownership mindset across your school community.
Why it made our list? We believe in multiplying talent, not micromanaging it. The Multiplier Effect shows exactly how to unlock the genius in others - turning average teams with high potential into hyper-performers.
Book #3: The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity

Author: George Couros
TL;DR: If you want innovative students, you need innovative educators.
The Innovator's Mindset dismantles the compliance-driven culture baked into traditional education.
Instead, Couros calls for a school culture that celebrates curiosity, risk-taking, and creative thinking - starting with school leaders. He argues that innovation isn’t a skill set, it’s a mindset. And leaders need to model it every day.
This book will empower you to champion change in your school, experiment with new methods, and build a learning community that evolves with the times.
Why it made our list? Our teams opt for smart innovation over blind compliance every single time. In The Innovator's Mindset, Couros gives you a blueprint to do the same - killing your compliance culture and building schools where creativity thrives and impact grows.
Book #4: AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders

Author: Tony Frontier
TL;DR: AI IS coming to your school. You need to be ready.
AI tools are flooding into schools (officially AND unofficially) faster than policies can keep up. Frontier understands that most educational leaders are caught between the excitement of new possibilities and the terror of making the wrong choice.
Head in the clouds tech books promising magical silver bullet solutions help exactly no one. That’s why AI with Intention focuses on underlying principles. Helping you evaluate what AI can and can't do, while keeping your students at the center of every decision.
This book takes a no-nonsense approach to the questions keeping you up at night: How do you maintain academic integrity in the age of AI? What happens to effective teaching when AI does the heavy lifting? How do you train teachers who are already at their wits end?
Why it made our list? At Crossover, we don’t blindly chase technology. We create systems that allow us to lead it. AI with Intention is an essential guide for leading AI adoption in your school - treating meaningful implementation as a leadership challenge. Not a technology problem.
Book #5: Lessons of Hope: How to Fix Our Schools

Author: Joel Klein
TL;DR: School reform is hard. Do it anyway.
Joel Klein chronicles his battle to overhaul NYC’s public school system.
With zero experience in education, he brought a performance-driven, accountability-focused lens to one of the most entrenched systems in the United States.
The result? More school choice, rising graduation rates, and real reform.
This is a gritty, real-world case study in what it takes to lead systemic change AND the obstacles you’ll face while doing it.
Why it made our list? Our hiring process is proof of our belief in skills and potential over CV-fluff. In Lessons of Hope, Klein shows how someone with zero education experience can fix what education insiders couldn't.
Book #6: The Power of AI for Educators: Revolutionize Teaching to Stay Competitive

Author: Victoria R. Summers
TL;DR: Cut your administrative workload in half WHILE making learning radically personalized.
The Power of AI for Educators promises what every educational leader wants: less administrative quicksand. More time for actual teaching and learning.
Summers provides a roadmap that’ll have you implementing AI strategies that cut the administrative burden by 50% WHILE creating more personalized learning for your kids. Whether you're tech-savvy or tech-terrified, this guide shows you exactly how to integrate AI the right way.
And it does it WITHOUT skipping your biggest concerns: student privacy, the digital divide, and over-dependence on technology.
Why it made our list? At Crossover, we work smarter, not harder. Modern educational leaders need to do the same. This book delivers on the ultimate promise: giving your teachers back hours a week while making learning more impactful than ever.
Book #7: Lead Like a PIRATE: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff

Author: Shelley Burgess, Beth Houf
TL;DR: Transform your school into a place people run toward - not away from.
Burgess and Houf introduce the PIRATE framework: Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask, Transformation, Enthusiasm.
This book is for leaders who want more than compliance. Leaders looking for contagious energy, radical engagement, and joyful schools.
Looking past traditional school culture, Lead Like a PIRATE is ideal for anyone looking to work past the exhausting bureaucracy and lead with heart, vision, and creativity.
Why it made our list? At Crossover, we know culture matters. Lead Like a PIRATE is all about building a school culture that feels like an adventure you want to join, NOT a burden you don’t believe in.
Upgrade Your Library with These Educational Leadership Books
The best educational leadership books don't rehash yesterday's playbooks - they write new ones.
These seven books get it. They understand you're not leading the same school your predecessor led. And that the challenges hitting your desk require a different kind of clarity, courage, and creativity to solve.
But you don't have to go ham with all seven in one go. Heck, one book - the right book - might be enough for your biggest current headache.
So pick the book that addresses the fire you're fighting right now.
Managing curriculum bloat? Start with Future Wise.
Team energy running low? Grab The Multiplier Effect.
School culture feeling flat? Lead Like a PIRATE is your answer.
Read it. Apply it. Then pass it on to another leader in your network.
The future of education depends on leaders who are prepared to lead differently. Not with industrial-age thinking.
Ready to stop managing tomorrow's problems with yesterday's solutions? It's time to embrace new thinking over old habits. Pick up one of these educational leadership books and start building a system fit for the modern age.