Strategies/behaviors that successful superintendents use to build strong relationships and trust during their entry period

2012-03-21The purpose of the study was to identify strategies/behaviors that successful superintendents used to build strong relationships and trust with their school boards within their entry period. The following research questions guided the study: ❧ 1. What strategies/behaviors are successful superintendents using to build strong relationships and trust with the board during their entry period? ❧ 2. How do superintendents implement these strategies and evaluate their success? ❧ 3. What formal/informal leadership preparation assists superintendents for entry into the superintendency? ❧ The study used a qualitative approach to collecting and analyzing data through the use of a survey and interviews. The survey responses revealed that 90% of the partici-pating superintendents had either a formal or informal entry plan. Included in those entry plans were strategies/behaviors that helped the superintendents to build strong relation-ships and trust during their entry period: being personable, establishing credibility, lis-tening and examining, celebrating early wins, and communicating often with all stake-holders, especially school board members. ❧ Successful superintendents, upon being hired, began to implement their entry plan items by frequently communicating with stakeholders (especially school board members), taking team retreats, and frequently reviewing their entry period progress with school board members. ❧ Nearly all (98.4%) of the participating superintendents reported that their most effective training had been from either a formal or an informal source, such as a govern-ment agency, mentor/partnership, personal research, prior administrative experience, professional associations, and/or university-based programs. The majority (62.5%) stated that their most effective training came from prior administrative experience