Equal parts exhilarating and daunting, experienced principals will still recall the steep learning curve of those early days, where preparation often gave way to learning on the job. While principal preparation remains a challenge in Aotearoa New Zealand, there is one support that ranks as most valuable for new principals: mentoring from others (ERO, 2023).
Becoming a mentor to an aspiring or beginning principal is more than a professional responsibility – it’s a personal investment in the future of school leadership. High-quality mentoring, when done intentionally and relationally, and in conjunction with structured leadership development programmes, has the potential to transform not just individuals, but the system as a whole.
The Government’s priority to develop the workforce of the future, including leadership development pathways, is a call to action for the sector we can all support. For the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF), the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) and other sector leaders, becoming a mentor is not a stand-alone initiative. It’s part of a co-constructed, strategic approach to principal development – one that reflects a shared commitment to collective agency and enduring, system-wide improvement.
The evolution of principal mentoring
Mentoring has long been recognised as a cornerstone of leadership development (Bush, 2009). Traditionally, it followed an apprenticeship model, where a seasoned principal passed down wisdom to a ‘novice’. The model has evolved. Today’s mentoring is less about giving answers and more about educative partnership – a relationship grounded in trust, reciprocity, cultural capability, and shared sense-making (Hayes & Mahfouz, 2020; Teaching Council, 2015).
Mentoring is a deliberate, evidence‑informed learning partnership between the mentor and the aspiring | beginning principal. It blends support with challenge, combines inquiry with reflection, and capability-building with professional learning (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009). This move away from the veteran–novice partnership reflects a deeper understanding of what effective leadership development now looks like.
Good mentoring means co-constructing goals with mentees, observing practice (and being observed), holding focused conversations in relation to leadership practices. All with the aim of building a learning-centred, and improvement-focussed profession (Parylo et al., 2012).
Why mentoring is a game-changer
A key outcome of effective mentoring is that both mentor and mentee benefit. For aspiring and early-career principals, a skilled mentor can reduce isolation, accelerate decision‑making confidence, strengthen technical, cultural and relational capability, and support strategic thinking (Gimbel & Kefor, 2018; Hansford & Ehrich, 2006). For mentors, the work is renewing – embedding knowledge, improving professional conversations, and informing their own leadership practice. Ultimately, mentors contribute to the learning of their mentee and support system improvement (Bush, 2009; Parylo et al., 2012).
Mentoring creates system-wide change. As a mentor, principals contribute to system leadership and influence improvement beyond their own school. Mentoring helps to build a resilient leadership pipeline and improves practice across kura (Parylo et al., 2012) – both outcomes sought by the NZPF, the Ministry and other sector leaders.
Strategic commitment, investment and collaboration
Principal mentoring is a key pillar of a nation-wide strategic approach for future school leaders; and the Ministry funded aspiring and beginning principal programmes place one-to-one mentoring at the heart of leadership development, ensuring support is structured, targeted, and impactful.
In partnership, the Ministry, the NZPF and sector leaders have designed the mentoring approach to reflect both research and our context in Aotearoa New Zealand, ensuring Te Tiriti oWaitangi is central to the work of both parties in the mentoring relationship.
The programmes aim to grow leaders who are ready to lead learning and manage complexity from day one. Key elements of the mentorship design include:
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A commitment to student learning and success, grounding the relationship in high trust and moral purpose through improving achievement.
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Careful matching of mentors and aspiring | beginning principals to build strong foundations.
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Clear roles and expectations for both parties.
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Time, training, and resourcing to support mentors effectively.
The mentor application process is being managed by the Ministry with the support of the sector. Procurement of external providers, who will deliver the aspiring and beginning principal programmes and also manage the matching process, is underway.The providers will deliver structured mentor training aligned with local and internationally supported research and evaluate effectiveness of both programmes over time. This level of independent oversight will help maintain quality standards and ensure the mentoring experience is meaningful and grounded in evidence and feedback.
The bottom line
Mentoring is more than a tool – it simultaneously grows people, supports stronger school leadership, and builds a stronger education system. When we align mentoring with the Ministry’s wider principal pathway programmes, and the curated supports from providers, we create the conditions for principals to thrive – and for our school communities to feel the impact
If you are an experienced principal, now is the time to apply to be a mentor in the aspiring or beginning principal programmes, or both. Your experience, knowledge and insights into what makes a good principal great will shape the next generation of leaders. As with the principals who came before you, the investment made in others through mentoring becomes an investment in the strength of the whole system.
For more information and how to apply to become a mentor go to the Ministry’s Education Workforce website:
About the Author
Isaac Day has served as a principal for nearly 18 years and has been involved in educational leadership and mentoring for more than 25 years. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Canterbury, where his research focused on building leadership capacity by exploring leadership development across a career. Isaac has recently been appointed to a role as Chief Advisor, Education Workforce and Leadership at the Ministry of Education, contributing to national strategy and system-level leadership development.
References
Bush, T. (2009). Leadership development and school improvement: contemporary issues in leadership development. Educational Review, 61(4), 375–389.
Darling–Hammond, L., Meyerson, D., LaPointe, M., & Orr, M. T. (2009). Preparing principals for a changing world: Lessons from effective school leadership programs. Wiley & Sons.
ERO. (2023). Everything was new: Preparing and supporting new principals. Wellington Retrieved from
Gimbel, P., & Kefor, K. (2018). Perceptions of a principal mentoring initiative. NASSP Bulletin, 102(1), 22–37.
Hansford, B., & Ehrich, L. C. (2006). The principalship: How significant is mentoring? Journal of Educational Administration, 44(1), 36–52.
Hayes, S. D., & Mahfouz, J. (2020). Principalship and mentoring: A review of perspectives, evidence, and literature 1999–2019. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, 5(3), 722–751.
Parylo, O., Zepeda, S. J., & Bengtson, E. (2012). The different faces of principal mentorship. International journal of mentoring and coaching in education, 1(2), 120–135.
Teaching Council. (2015). Guidelines for induction and mentoring and mentor teachers.