Elisa B. MacDonald’s 2023 book, Intentional Moves: How Skillful Team Leaders Impact Learning, argues that school leaders can’t leave improvement to chance. Through three parts, including 10 “primary intentions,” the book offers concrete strategies—complete wit
The first week a teacher decides to become a leader can feel like stepping off a familiar platform into open air. One moment you’re a colleague; the next. you’re expected to support others while the school changes course for the next school year. That uncertainty is exactly where Elisa B. MacDonald’s Intentional Moves: How Skillful Team Leaders Impact Learning lands—less like theory, more like a steady hand.
In the review that follows. the writer describes being overwhelmed by the transition and searching for ways to make that shift with confidence. The book. published by Corwin Press in 2023. quickly becomes part of that learning—particularly because it doesn’t ask readers to sprint through it all at once. MacDonald’s guidance is to treat the book as a reference, not a linear read to the finish.
Intentional Moves is organized into three parts. The first two are designed to help readers understand the concept of leadership and build essential grounding around adult learners. The third section is where the approach becomes practical: it examines 10 “primary intentions” that skillful team leaders can use to help their teams function with intentional impact.
MacDonald’s structure is influenced by Jennifer Seravallo’s The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book. which the reviewer cites as models for how such lengthy material can be organized and made usable. The result is a book that aims to feel manageable, even though it is described as comprehensive and “incredibly” detailed.
A book you can dip into—then bring back to your team
In the first chapter, MacDonald suggests approaching the book as a reference rather than reading the entire text straight through and stocking it on a professional development shelf. The reviewer connects this recommendation to the book’s purpose: to help leadership be more intentional.
The reviewer also recommends starting with the two beginning sections to build a conceptual foundation before jumping into the heart of the book—specifically the ten primary intentions. In their view, those introductory chapters provide the framework needed to engage each intention “carefully and thoughtfully.”.
The third section is arranged so each of the 10 moves has its own specified chapter. Each chapter follows a consistent format: MacDonald provides an overview of the Skillful Team Leader (STL) moves. explains what the particular move promotes. lays out when to use it. and includes suggestions for related reading. The chapters also include scripts, alongside what the reviewer calls valuable information that helps readers see leadership moves “in action.”.
A method that mirrors what teachers already do
One of the most personally reassuring elements described is a recurring feature in the chapters about the primary moves: a section labeled “Think Like a Teacher.” MacDonald lays out how each leadership move mirrors what teachers are already doing in classrooms. The reviewer says this was comforting during their transition from colleague and teacher to leader. because it reframed leadership not as something entirely new. but as a translation of skills they already had.
The chapters are further supported with practical tools—tables. charts. and graphic organizers—so readers can make connections and apply the moves with their team. Because of that thoroughness. the reviewer says they can see returning to the book year after year. jumping around based on what their team needs.
Keeping 500 pages from swallowing the school year
Intentional Moves is about 500 pages long, and the reviewer doesn’t downplay that. They read over the course of a year, starting in the summer and finishing during the school year—without rushing. They describe doing so as intentional, too: the slower pace allowed time to reflect on the ideas.
They also suggest ways to make it social and strategic. saying the book would work well in a book club with a leadership team at a school. If someone prefers reading cover to cover. they recommend saving it for the summer months so the knowledge can be applied during the next school year. If time is limited, the reviewer points readers toward specific chapters they found important.
Chapter 2, in particular, is singled out for focusing on what MacDonald calls the “Team Function, Impact Matrix.” The reviewer describes it as a strong starting point for analyzing teams and using the matrix with team members.
The reviewer also names the primary intentions they found most useful in their own setting: Primary Intention 3 on group culture. community and trust; Primary Intention 8 on being intentional with how teams use and analyze student work/data; and Primary Intention 10. which concludes the book by honing in on assessing a leader’s own leadership and potential for growth.
Leadership as something you can evaluate—and keep improving
For the reviewer, Intentional Moves isn’t only for people who already hold leadership roles. They recommend it for anyone considering leadership as well. describing it as a text that offers ready-to-use strategies in chapters that are “manageable.” They emphasize that it also portrays how these strategies play out with different team dynamics.
They describe the experience of reading the book as authentic—“like MacDonald was personally coaching” them—and note that four years into their own leadership role, they have returned to the text again and again.
Dr. Katie Durkin, the reviewer, is a middle school teacher with more than a decade of experience. She currently teaches English Language Arts at public Middlebrook School (6-8) in Wilton. Connecticut. where she is a 7th Grade Team Leader. She was the 2020 recipient of the Edwyna Wheadon Postgraduate Training Scholarship from the NCTE and writes regularly for MiddleWeb. In 2022. she earned her doctorate from Northeastern University; her dissertation examined the impact of classroom libraries on middle school students’ reading engagement.
education leadership team leaders professional learning school culture student work data adult learners Corwin Press Elisa MacDonald leadership strategies school improvement
So basically it’s like “try harder” but for school leaders?
I skimmed the headline and thought it was about like… team sports lol. But I guess it’s teachers becoming leaders? The first week stress is real though, that part felt familiar. Not sure how a book fixes anything, but ok.
10 primary intentions?? That sounds like corporate buzzwords. Also if school leaders can’t “leave improvement to chance,” then why are they always cutting stuff and changing curriculum every year? Feels like the usual playbook, just dressed up. But I might be missing the point.
Not to be dramatic but “stepping off a familiar platform into open air” is honestly how it feels when you get promoted to lead or whatever. I like that it says use it as a reference not read cover to cover, that makes sense. Still, do they ever talk about actually supporting teachers and not just leaders? My principal would “intentional” us to death and nothing changes.