The author suggests that state policymakers seeking to improve principal leadership consider the following topics and questions:  

• Moving principals higher on state education policy agendas. Are there state leaders and constituencies in the state that can help move principals higher up on the agenda? And if there are not, why is that the case? 
• Understanding what principals do.  What is it that state policymakers aspire to have their principals do? Then ask: What is it that principals actually do? Where are those practices consistent or inconsistent with the aspirations of state policymakers? 
• Identifying reasons for discrepancies. What causes principals to work in ways that support or push against state aspirations? Is it a matter of professional disagreement about which tasks are most important? What is supporting or obstructing principals as they do their work? 
• Forming a policy and political strategy for moving forward. How can using the policy levers discussed in this report or other policy changes to  improve the chances that states will have excellent principals leading their schools? How can the state move a policy agenda forward? How can it also maintain flexibility to respond to future challenges and opportunities? How can it ensure that promising efforts can be sustained and not abandoned as the political winds shift?