This study examines the relationship between teacher efficacy, leadership, and how they intersect with complex and layered school system dynamics. Using the Listening Guide Method for Qualitative Inquiry (the Listening Guide, Gilligan, 1993), teacher interviews are examined, resulting in thematic expressions of resignation or resilience. These data revealed that effective classroom teachers can overcome the limitations of existing bureaucratic structures through resilience anchored in individual self-efficacy. The anchoring of resilience in individual self-efficacy demonstrated that both play a major role in teachers’ in-classroom experiences, and successfully interacting with complex and layered school system dynamics.