How successful superintendents build trusting relationships with their school boards during their entry period

2012-05-04This study focuses on how superintendents who have experienced success, as measured by having a school district achieve and consistently achieve in the face of many challenges today. Several key strategies and leadership frameworks that superintendents use are examined through a review of current research and are validated by reviewing the results of surveys of successful superintendents and their school board members. Among the strategies employed, the research shows that superintendents utilized an entry plan during their entry period to communicate their mission, vision, and goals on a regular basis. Superintendents who focus on their communication skills and develop a trusting relationship with their school board members demonstrate a commonality among successful superintendents. ❧ The field of education contains an extraordinary amount of literature based on the findings of many theorists and practitioners. The overwhelming amount of evidence points to several universal commonalities: success does not happen through luck, but luck is greatly needed; superintendents must have a strategic plan for facing a variety of challenges and no district has the same from one to another; and, finally, that the bond superintendents develop with their leadership team—and our research team’s primary focus—must be made in order to achieve success