08 Dec 2025
Investing in sustainable leadership: Amanda’s pathway to becoming a principal
Sharing leadership journeys inspires emerging and current leaders as they navigate their own careers.
Dr Marcia Devlin AM, CEO of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, visited Truganina College to meet with Truganina College Principal Amanda Williams to discuss her intentional leadership journey, and the benefits of the Academy programs she has chosen to support this. Amanda is passionate about sharing her experience and contributing to the development of emerging leaders.
Amanda’s career pathway
- Literacy intervention and languages teacher
- Languages coordinator
- Leading teacher
- Assistant principal
- Facilitator
- Principal
- Principal network leader
Education philosophy and paying it forward
A passionate and energised leader, Amanda is deeply driven by the belief that getting learning right from the outset is life-changing for young people.
‘We impact the lives of students, families, and future leaders every day. I take that responsibility seriously and strive to lead with the same generosity, clarity, and purpose that was shown to me.’
Throughout Amanda’s career, her motivations have evolved, but central to her leadership is a commitment to building strong foundations.
‘I remain committed to ensuring that every student receives the high-quality learning they deserve, but I am equally driven to cultivate, support, and uplift the educators around me, whether they are graduate teachers, emerging leaders, or experienced colleagues stepping into new challenges.’
Leadership quickly in sight
Amanda’s career began as a languages teacher, which she loved, but she soon sought additional challenges and impact. Motivated by her son’s early literacy challenges, she moved into literacy intervention — a deeply personal passion — and later completed a Master of Literacy.
Amanda says the most significant accelerator in her career was stepping into the role of network leader, having the opportunity to learn and collaborate with network principals, network leaders and Senior Education Improvement Leaders (SEIL).
‘I received targeted feedback from some amazing SEILs who helped shape my career’.
Amanda also shared the role provided her with system leadership thinking and closer engagement with the Academy’s professional learning.
Professional learning with the Academy
Amanda has actively participated in Academy programs across her career with fellow teachers and college leaders.
‘The Academy has built a respected and trusted reputation, giving us confidence that its programs are rigorous, current and aligned with system priorities. I refer to this as ‘quality for value’ because the learning does genuinely influence practice and outcomes.’
Leadership knowledge, capabilities and dispositions to support excellence
Amanda shared that becoming a network leader opened the door to the Academy’s WISE (We Inspire System Excellence) program and a suite of ‘exceptional professional learning,’ examining her leadership more deeply through the dispositions outlined in the Academy Leadership Excellence Framework (ALEF).
Reflecting on Professor Vivian Robinson’s research, which underpins the ALEF, Amanda shared: ‘It gave me a strong theoretical and practical foundation for change implementation, which I used to guide our network executive team in translating that research into meaningful action within our network context’.
More broadly and within the college, Amanda said they have embedded the ALEF into ongoing leadership development.
‘Assistant principals, learning specialists and professional learning community (PLC) leaders are engaging with the framework, particularly the leadership dispositions, which is strengthening a shared language and professional discussions’.
Academy Leadership Excellence Framework
Support from experienced leaders and network building
Evolve: New Principals was instrumental in shaping Amanda’s early principalship journey, offering high-quality professional learning and access to a network of colleagues.
‘That sense of connection and shared learning was invaluable during some of the more demanding moments of my first years as a principal.’
Strengthening school identity with Inspiring School Confidence and Pride
One of the most influential programs Amanda has completed is Inspiring School Confidence and Pride.
‘It delivered the most immediate and positive change in my leadership and in our school’s culture. I attended with another staff member, and the opportunity and time to collaborate meant we left the sessions with a shared vision and a clear plan for action and implementation the very next week.’
Inspiring School Confidence and Pride
Coaching and mentoring
Amanda also benefited from high-quality coaching throughout these programs. A standout experience was a joint coaching session with one of her Senior Education Improvement Leaders, facilitated by Bruce Armstrong.
‘It sharpened my understanding, strengthened my leadership habits, and gave me greater clarity regarding big picture thinking in leadership.’
Inspired learning through state-of-the-art facilities
Amanda has also recently used the Academy’s East Melbourne centre for a day of learning and collaboration with her school network.
‘You want to learn from the minute you walk through the doors…it is an inspiring learning environment for participants.’
Facilitating professional learning at the Academy
Amanda continues to be an Academy advocate and is an Academy certified facilitator of Inspire: Emerging Leaders, supporting middle teachers to discover their strengths and build their foundational capabilities to pursue leadership roles.
‘Overall, facilitating Inspire has reinforced my commitment to growing confident and capable leaders who will continue to influence and improve learning outcomes across the educational system’.
Amanda proudly shares that a 2024 graduate of Inspire: Emerging Leaders was the recipient of 2 awards at this year’s Victorian Education Excellence Awards.
Amanda also reflects that being a facilitator ensures she stays up to date with current leadership research and theories and deepens her understanding of effective leadership practice.
Why professional learning matters
Amanda reflects that as a Principal and Inspire facilitator, she’s intentional about identifying and nurturing aspirant leaders. ‘Encouraging aspirant leaders to try on the leadership boots and reminding them that the boots often fit better than you think, has produced rewarding outcomes’.
She said professional learning is an investment in her staff, students, culture, and in strengthening their professional learning community as a college. In 2025, 5 staff from Truganina College completed the Academy’s Inspire: Emerging Leaders program, with one becoming a learning specialist, another a PLC leader, and one successfully securing a leadership position in another school.
‘Early career teachers have a lot to offer and are our next generation of leaders. I feel very excited to be a part of supporting and encouraging their journey through Inspire!’.
Looking ahead: Amanda’s future vision
As Principal of Truganina College, Amanda is leading the implementation of their School Strategic Plan which includes a recently introduced unifying statement: To develop the capacity of all students to be active learners, leaders and citizens.
Amanda said they ensure the vision comes to life by embedding it into professional learning, curriculum design, collaborative planning and leadership structures. As she proudly reflects, the impact is already visible.
‘Our Say NO! To Racism working party led by students and staff met with the Victorian Attorney General at Parliament in November 2024, to share how we are preventing racism, responding to incidents, and celebrating cultural diversity. This experience demonstrated to students that their voices carry influence beyond the school gates and reinforced our commitment to developing active citizens’.
Advice to new leaders
Sustainable leadership drives meaningful change: this is the most important mindset shift for an educator in their first formal leadership role. The workload will always be significant, but you should not tackle everything at once, even though it may all feel urgent and important.
Prioritise your wellbeing: prioritising your wellbeing is not separate from the work, it enables you to lead effectively. Turning off, resting, and creating space to think is often the secret ingredient to getting the job done well.
Lead with foresight: use scheduled downtime to reflect on what worked, what you learned, and what you want to achieve next. Determine where you want to be in a year and then map the incremental actions. This keeps goals achievable, progress visible, and leadership purposeful rather than reactive.
Leadership is a long-term journey: carefully pace yourself, protect your wellbeing and energy, and give yourself permission to grow into the role.
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