To keep great teachers in the classroom, schools must move beyond traditional recruitment and hiring practices. Attracting and retaining exceptional teachers requires leaders to create work environments where educators feel valued, supported, and inspired to stay. And this necessitates a shift in perspective—one that highlights what schools can offer teachers, not just what teachers can offer schools.
In this excerpt from Make Your School Irresistible: The Secret to Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers (ASCD, 2025), Carrie Bishop and Jessica Holloway explain how leaders can foster a culture where teachers feel safe, seen, soothed, secure—what the authors refer to as the 4 Ss of good leadership. For leaders, these principles provide a framework for building trust, strengthening relationships, and making your school a place where teachers want to grow and thrive.
The 4 Ss of Showing Up
The essence of being present can be expressed in the simple statement “Just show up.” In a scene in the movie The Break-Up (Reed, 2006), a couple argues in the kitchen about doing the dishes. Jennifer Aniston’s character says, “I want you to want to do the dishes,” and Vince Vaughn’s character replies, “Why would I want to do the dishes?” This exchange illustrates the frustration of obligation versus self-motivation.
We feel gratitude when someone shows up without being pressured by an invitation or a sense of obligation. Educators want to be supported in this way, especially by leadership. Siegel and Bryson (2020) identify what they call the 4 Ss of showing up—safe, seen, soothed, secure—in their discussion about how children develop secure attachments with their caregivers, and they emphasize the notion of being not perfect but present. The same ideas can be applied to school leadership, as shown in Figure 4.2. A flawed leader is preferable to an absent one.
Figure 4.2: A School Leader’s Version of the Four Ss of Showing Up
4 Ss | Key Actions |
|---|---|
| Safe | Staff feel safe when you respond with support, not judgment, whenever they try a new approach or take a risk. Entering a classroom with a clipboard or a laptop can inadvertently convey judgment. Instead, leaving a positive message on a sticky note on your way out is a great way to convey your support. Encouraging staff to take risks, acknowledging mistakes as part of the learning process, and welcoming diversity of thought create an environment where educators feel psychologically safe to learn and grow. |
| Seen | Staff feel seen when you acknowledge and speak to them whenever you encounter them in the building or in other settings. Doing so also allows you to be responsive to their emotional well-being and stay attuned to the climate of the school. |
| Soothed | Staff feel soothed when you are present to help calm them through times of stress or disruption. Providing direction and reassurance during difficult times is an opportunity to ease anxiety and be a source of comfort. In addition, leading alongside your staff communicates a collective approach to navigating issues and obstacles, which can be reassuring in itself. |
| Secure | Staff feel secure when you empower them to make decisions, affirming their value as a faculty member. More broadly, a sense of security relates directly to the other three Ss. Making teachers and staff feel safe, seen, and soothed leads them to be secure in their ability to do their best work, to be reassured of their professional worth, and to persevere through challenging situations. |
In her role as a district innovation coach, Jessica had an experience that illustrates the power of just showing up. One morning, with an hour of unscheduled time before a school meeting, she stopped by another school she was supporting to check in on an educator launching a new program. As Jessica walked into the classroom, the teacher met her with a quizzical look. Jessica responded, “We don’t have a meeting this morning, but I wanted to check in with you before heading to another meeting.” Hearing this, the teacher began to cry. Her implementation of the new program wasn’t going well, and she’d been trying to figure why. As the teacher described the steps, Jessica realized one crucial element was missing and shared her observation.
Problem solved. In a matter of minutes, she had soothed this educator’s anxiety and frustration, leading the teacher to feel secure in her ability to teach the lesson. Because this interaction occurred early in the school year, the coach-teacher partnership was strengthened. It also established an understanding that support for innovation would be ongoing and that Jessica would make time to “just show up.”
We all want to feel connected and valued. Leaders reveal what they value by what they make time for and participate in. Create time and space to connect with faculty and share experiences with them. Invest your minutes to make memorable moments with the people who matter most.
Make Your School Irresistible
Secrets to finding, attracting, and retaining great teachers who will contribute to a promising future for your school, your students, and your community.
