All versions of top-down reform have an Achilles heel: Their focus on delivering the details of two or three measurable priorities is suitable only for systems pursuing traditional and comparatively narrow achievement goals. A digital age of complex skills, cultural diversity, and high-speed change calls for more challenging educational goals and more sophisticated and flexible change strategies. The authors assess and discuss large-scale reform efforts in England and in Ontario, Canada as examples of how a leading from the middle approach can be effective and superior to other approaches.