Teacher leadership is closely related to the level of professional competence. However, at the present development stage of the education system, this concept is not always fully understood and taken into account. The purpose of our research is to study the level of leadership of Russian school and university teachers, as well as to identify problems and suggest possible solutions. The survey involved 111 school teachers and university lecturers. The selection criterion is explained by the fact that leadership may vary depending on the level of education. This sample will allow us to consider the issue more widely. In the course of our research, the authors identified the following problems: the concept and importance of teacher leadership are not fully understood; consequently, teacher leadership is not fully implemented. This fact negatively affects professional competence development. These problems can be solved by the creation of special courses, the exchange of experience, the encouragement of teacher leaders and the introduction of the idea of teacher leadership in pedagogical universities.