Shared Leadership Support. The literature on the importance of leadership in school change initiatives is clear: leadership is critical to successful implementation and sustainability of any reform effort (Fullan, 2010; Hall & Xxxx, 2011). Within a multiEtiered system of supports context, coaching not only involves supporting those who provide effective instruction to students, but also involves implementing, sustaining, and evaluating school improvement plans toward desired goals established by leadership. Shared leadership support refers to a recognition that successful outcomes for addressing either student or organizational change concerns cannot be achieved by just having an effective leader or just having effective coaching supports. The reciprocal and functional relationship between leadership and coaching is needed to produce the desired outcomes of the organization (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2010; Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, 2008; Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxx, 2013; Xxxx, 2009; Xxxxxxx et al., 2001). In other words, both coaching and leading are required to facilitate change. The concept of “distributed leadership” within the educational organization is growing in popularity (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, 2008). This form of leadership recognizes the collective work of all individuals in an organization who contribute to leadership practice, whether they are formally or informally defined as leaders. This form of leadership focuses on teams rather than individuals, and it seeks to empower teachers, support staff, and students as leaders. Growing evidence suggests a powerful relationship between forms of distributed leadership and improved organizational performance and outcomes (Xxxxxxxxx et al., 2004, 2007). From a systems coaching perspective, teams of professionals engage in distributed leadership to collectively share the responsibilities of coaching to ensure positive student learning outcomes while concurrently building the skills and knowledge of staff in alignment with school improvement goals. In other words, there is a reciprocal relationship between coaching and leadership in this new conceptualization of coaching for MTSS — coaching supports the leadership while leadership facilitates successful coaching efforts at the school and district levels. Team leadership capacity is dynamic in nature and varies as a function of the representative human capital (knowledge and skills of team members), the context and issues being addressed, as well as the infrastructure in place to solve problems (Day, Gronn, & ...
