Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
Stretch : Navigating Pressure and Impact in Middle Leadership - Steven Trotter
eTextbook alternate format product

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!

Go digital and save!

Stretch

Navigating Pressure and Impact in Middle Leadership

By: Steven Trotter

Paperback | 12 August 2026

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $39.95

$39.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $9.94 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

Middle leaders are the engine room of school improvement - yet they are too often underprepared, overstretched, and under-supported. Stretch is a practical guide for middle leaders navigating the demanding space between classroom and boardroom, between doing and leading. Drawing on decades of real-world leadership experience, Steven Trotter offers honest, research-informed insights into the pressures that define middle leadership, and the strategies that make those pressures manageable, meaningful, and ultimately transformative.

Structured across three parts, Stretch moves from the lived realities of middle leadership - cognitive load, time pressure, emotional intelligence, and role ambiguity - through to six concrete levers for elevating leadership practice, and finally to a set of reflections for leaders building toward the future. This is not a book of tidy answers or one-size-fits-all solutions. It is a guide for leaders willing to pause, reflect, and grow - because when the stretch is understood and embraced, it becomes the very engine of lasting impact.

Industry Reviews

'Steven Trotter's new book, Stretch, is an essential read for principals and middle leaders navigating the complex space between vision and implementation. His concept of "stretch" - the dynamic tension between competing demands - captures a lived reality for school leaders and highlights the need to understand and manage our own leadership elasticity. This work will significantly inform how I continue to support and companion leaders across Tasmania, ensuring they thrive rather than merely endure. I deeply appreciate Steven's authentic, insightful articulation of leadership, grounded in experience, humility, and humanity, and his compelling call to lead with clarity, self-awareness, and intentionality.'

Simon Matthews - Executive Director, Independent Schools Tasmania

'Stretch is rich in heart, wisdom, and lived experience. Each page is brought to life through powerful analogies that resonate across all levels of leadership. Education is a profoundly social enterprise, and through familiar, affirming scenarios, this book reinforces a simple truth: regardless of time, place, context, or role, our work is ultimately about people and relationships. I highly recommend Stretch to any educator or leader seeking to reflect, refine, and grow their practice.'

Braydon Giles - Head of Senior School, Vice President of Adolescent Success

'Steven Trotter's new book, Stretch, is an outstanding resource for anyone working in, or aspiring to be in, educational middle leadership. Stretch offers a clear and practical framework that deepens understanding of leadership whilst elevating leadership by providing strategies and activities that can be applied immediately. Focusing on leading self, leading others, and reflection and growth makes it both a thoughtful and highly useful teacher resource. A valuable read for leaders wanting to grow their confidence, capability, and impact.'

Toni Maddock - Head of Middle School, Stepping into (ed)Leadership Podcast Co-host

More in Organisation & Management of Education

American Hagwon - Min Jin Lee

RRP $37.99

$24.99

34%
OFF
Excel NAPLAN-style Tests : Year 2 - Excel

RRP $28.95

$23.75

18%
OFF
Education, Change and Society : 5th Edition - Dennis  Foley

RRP $103.95

$88.99

14%
OFF
CLARITY : What Matters MOST in Learning, Teaching, and Leading - Lyn D. Sharratt