Struggling for Authentic Human Synergy and a Robust Democratic Culture: The Wellspring Community for Women in Educational Leadership

In this paper we will introduce a community of women educational leaders, theirstruggles for personal and professional accountability, and their inquiry toward thedevelopment of leadership wisdom in a democratic culture. Such leadership wisdomis not the norm in today's educational organizations. Influenced by the work ofresearchers, educational leaders, and professors of educational administration,traditional leadership has been based on hierarchical thinking and prescriptive skillsthat have promoted the status quo (Davies & Foster, 1994; Maxcy, 1994). Thispaper tells the story of a group of women educational leaders who are supportingeach other as they challenge tradition and explore the application of democraticleadership in educational settings. Their story is a result of the analysis of datacollected over the first three years of the Wellspring Community's existence