Leadership in the Context of Comprehensive School Safety and Crisis Intervention
I’ve had the privilege of spending a lot of time with school-based practitioners recently, and a few things have stuck with me. Many are similar to things I faced in my years as a school psychologist, but being able to see them from the outside is a perspective that I didn’t have back then. As I prepare for upcoming trainings and events on Safe and Sound’s Road to Prevent, I wanted to share these thoughts with my network and see if you are all observing the same things and feeling the same way!
When it comes to comprehensive school safety and crisis intervention, I think we tend to overcomplicate leadership to a point where many do not think of themselves as leaders or in a position to make change. From where I sit, I think this creates gaps in our approaches to protect our schools and students.
For starters, we need to understand that comprehensive school safety and crisis intervention is complex and the only way to address it is through a team approach. This team must be multidisciplinary; it cannot be siloed.
Comprehensive school safety requires us to:
Work as a multidisciplinary team rather than in silos.
Balance physical safety and psychological safety. They are two sides of the same coin, and research shows how interconnected they are.
Recognize that everyone has a role in creating a safe and supportive school environment where students and staff can thrive.
School safety is an all-hands-on-deck effort.
What Does It Mean to Lead?
Sometimes I wonder if people do not realize that they can stand up to be leaders, or influence change. This is where I think we tend to overcomplicate leadership.
There are times when people view leadership as a title, position, authority, degree, administrative position, or something flashy. Other times people see leadership as visibility on social media and being perceived as a thought leader. Ironic, I know.
Those are forms of leadership, but what I have learned is that leadership is influence in action, not necessarily about a position or visibility.
Over the years I have seen leadership titles demonstrate very little leadership, while someone with “no title” wield enormous influence. In education, expertise, credentials, and credibility tend to be rewarded and lauded. Those things are important, but leadership can happen wherever people stand.
Leadership can look like:
Modeling best practices.
Identifying a problem and becoming part of the solution.
Voicing a perspective that shares practical experiences.
Sharing knowledge that others may not have.
You can make an impact from the classroom, the hallway, the conference room, the bus line, or wherever you stand. That is leadership.
How Do You Lead Where You Stand?
So, you may be finding yourself asking: how do I lead where I stand? I am just a teacher, front office staff, school psychologist, or someone in another role. This is where I think we need to challenge the idea of leadership and recognize it is actually about influence.
No matter your title, you have knowledge, experiences, relationships, and perspectives that contribute to comprehensive school safety. The question becomes how you recognize those strengths and use them to positively influence the people and environment around you.
A Framework for Leading Where You Stand
One approach that I have found incredibly helpful is the model from the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative called Meta-leadership (Marcus et al., 2026).
This framework equips leaders to navigate complex crisis events involving multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. It also serves to establish the grounds for how you can lead from where you stand.
It starts with asking you to reflect on three interconnected dimensions:
The leader
The situation
The connection
These three dimensions can help you better understand your own leadership and the influence you already have.
The Leader: Finding Your Influence
For me, it was understanding who I am as a leader. Think about your own role and how it relates or connects to school safety and crisis intervention. Maybe you understand what happens inside the classroom. Maybe you know your students and recognize when something is different. Maybe you understand the operations of the front office, know the building layout, or have a skill or experience that could be useful during a challenging situation.
Ask yourself:
How does my role connect to school safety or crisis intervention?
What knowledge do I have because of where I stand?
What skills do I possess that could be useful?
Where do I have the ability to influence positive change?
These questions can help you better understand yourself as a leader and recognize the influence you already possess
The Situation: Understanding Your Environment
The next step is understanding the environment you operate in. Leading effectively requires understanding what is happening around you, including the strengths that already exist and the gaps that may need attention.
Consider the following questions:
What relationships are already strong?
What procedures and practices are already working?
Where are there opportunities for improvement?
What are students and staff experiencing?
These are just a few things to take into account when auditing your environment.
The Connections: Understanding Your Team
Finally, there are connections.
We are multidisciplinary players and we need to know who our teammates are. Once we know, we need to spend time building connections and relationships with them. This means working across different disciplines, perspectives, ways of thinking, professional backgrounds, and areas of training.
Leading where you stand also means recognizing that you do not know everything. It requires communication, humility, and a willingness to find common ground with others. It also means understanding what you bring to the table while recognizing and valuing what others bring as well.
This is how individual influence can pivot into collective action.
Where Do You Stand?
Which brings us back to the question: where do you stand?
What knowledge, skills, relationships, or experiences do you have because of where you stand? And most importantly, how are you going to use your influence to create change and help keep students and schools safe?
You do not need a new title or position to begin. Leadership starts with recognizing the role you play, a commitment to learning, strengthening your connections, and taking action from right where you are.
As you continue to lead and continue to learn, Safe and Sound Schools is committed to supporting you on your journey. Join us for a stop along the Road to Prevent to connect, learn, and strengthen your approach to comprehensive school safety.
The Road Ahead
Where you stand, there is an opportunity to learn, lead, and strengthen your connections.
Marcus, D. L. J., McNulty, E. J., Henderson, J. M., & Dorn, B. C. (2026). You’re It, Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most (Updated Edition). Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Comments