How School District Leadership Can Improve

Source: StockSnap/Pixabay Used with Permission

This is the first of a two-part series

I have known and worked alongside district administrators who are true change-makers. These individuals are proof that their positions can be used to nurture students and staff, and that even leaders who teachers have previously clashed with can rise to the direst occasions.

For example, two months into 2020’s COVID quarantine days, teachers’ positive feelings dropped significantly when meeting with administrators, even though teacher positivity rose when interacting with students or parents (Jones, Camburn, Kelcey, and Quintero, 2022), but many administrators won most teachers’ favor over the course of the pandemic. In surveying 131 teachers at multiple points between the fall of 2019 to May of 2020, “Pre-COVID meetings with administrators were associated with higher levels of negative [feelings], but post-COVID meetings with administrators were associated with lower levels of negative [feelings]” (Jones et al., 2022, p. 9). Yet this is not the case in all districts or with all administrators.

What is the secret to effective district leadership?

I’ve been following the research of Dana Minney, MS, for a while now. She is the planning and program evaluation coordinator of district-wide programs in a Texas public school district, and she has a great passion for student and staff well-being. Her study on district leadership and employee satisfaction in a K12 district office is complete, and I had the chance to speak with her about her latest findings. We discuss those findings, as well as how they align with existing research on leadership best practices.

What role did district data play in helping you form your research questions?

Climate survey data that indicated a percentage of respondents were unsatisfied with district leadership helped form the research questions. The district faced a number of challenges as well, such as a substantial reduction in the central office and campus-based workforce, changes in school and learning due to COVID, and state mandates related to equity and testing scores. My hunch was that this district, and other districts facing similar challenges, would require a collective effort to succeed. It seemed essential to understand the capacity level of district leaders and employees to work together toward a common goal. Since quantitative data had already been collected from employees in this district, I decided to conduct in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 11 district office employees across nine different areas within the academic sector—or the sector that deals directly with campuses.

How did your findings compare with existing research? For example, how did your findings align with research about workforce resilience and capacity?

Thematic analysis of my data revealed patterns that clearly aligned with existing research. Participants reported wanting district leaders to improve relational communication skills, cultivate a cooperative culture and participative leadership style, and use tools such as self-reflection for their own leadership development. All participants (n =11) felt dissatisfied with district leaders and believed employee dissatisfaction to be widespread.

Wow, all participants feeling the same way indicates how important it is to learn more about this topic. What else did you discover?

Existing research underscored the link between employee satisfaction, leadership, and organizational capacity to implement change. District leaders—including superintendents, assistant superintendents, and chiefs—were found to impact student achievement, and were influential in determining if reform efforts succeeded or failed at both campus and district levels (Augustine-Shaw, 2016; Chrispeels and colleagues, 2008; Honig, 2013; Marzano and Waters, 2009). In research across multiple domains, employee satisfaction was positively and significantly influenced by leadership and both were closely interrelated with capacity for change.

Can you give us an example of this?

For example, human resource development scholars Lin and Huang (2020) found employees in IT were more likely to experience satisfaction and positively adapt to change if organizational conditions supported a culture of learning. Madlock (2008) found employee satisfaction was highly influenced by employees’ perceptions of leaders’ communication competence and relational leadership style, and employee satisfaction was negatively correlated with absenteeism and turnover. Participants in Channing’s (2020) study of employees in education organizations ranked what they perceived as the most important competencies for effective, district-wide, educational leaders. The top three were:

• create positive work environments
• communication skills and human relations
• lead change

I would love to see a breakdown of themes in participants’ responses.

Here is a summary of response themes.

Reasons for employee dissatisfaction with leadership:

• Lacked transparency in communication, especially about decisions related to hiring, firing, or allocation of resources (n = 9)
• Did not conduct participatory decision-making nor demonstrate collaborative leadership (n = 8)
• Neglected to invest in relationships, did not listen to or engage with employees (n = 7)

What participants want from leaders:

• Leaders who value and recognize your expertise as a professional: listen to your input, and allow autonomy (n = 10)
• Leaders who communicate that they care about your needs and well-being, and build a relationship with you (n = 6)
• Leaders who model the stated values and initiatives of the district (n = 6)

Leadership Essential Reads

Why High-Potential Women Are Ambivalent About Leadership

Why Well-Being Is Foundational to Leading at Your Best

What needs to happen to improve leadership and support from district leaders?

• Provide more transparent communication and messaging about how decisions are made. (n = 9)
• Engage with employees in collaborative decision-making, and do more listening. (n = 8)
• Improve planning and follow through on plans once they are made. (n = 6)

What type of professional development should district leaders participate in?

• How to collaborate and create a culture of collaboration
• Improve and practice interpersonal communication: how to surface issues, how to listen
• How to identify values and a mission and align them with employee expectations,
• How to use reflection and self-awareness

Continue reading with Part II of this series.