For years, I wished I could clone one particular teacher. She was vibrant and flexible, creative and responsive. She listened deeply to children and adults. When a child struggled, she adjusted. When a parent felt frustrated, she encouraged. She never blamed—she looked for solutions. She could think on her feet and shift direction when children needed something different.

I remember thinking, “If only I could have ten more just like her.”

What I eventually learned, however, was that cloning was not the solution. Leadership growth was.

As I continued leading, I hired another extraordinary teacher—equally smart, equally kind, equally dedicated—but wired very differently. She sought clarity and structure. She wanted advance notice of change. When I introduced a new idea, she asked thoughtful questions: How would this affect the children? The parents? The flow of the room? The teaching team? She embraced change, but she wanted to understand it fully before implementing it.