Reforms of the scope and scale of those being undertaken by States today require the development of strong leaders at all levels of organizations to manage the change required by these and other initiatives. State education agencies (SEAs) can use this competency framework and accompanying exercise guide to build the skills, knowledge and behaviors of SEA leaders in order to increase the effectiveness in their current positions as well as prepare them to assume greater leadership responsibility in the future. The competency framework uses research from SEA leaders who participated in the Reform Support Network's Sustainability Work Group--Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York--to define a set of core competencies that are characteristic of high-performing SEA leaders. The competencies are organized into three broad categories: leads change, leads self, and leads others. The tool can be used to identify gaps in capacity within a specific department, as a self-assessment tool for individuals, or to develop a mentorship program where high-performing SEA leaders are strategically paired with emerging stars to work on developing skills in specific competency areas.