Adaptive School District Leadership

Source: StockSnap/Pixabay, used with permission

The district administrators I know are change-makers who continually use feedback and findings to perfect their craft. One topic they follow closely is effective leadership, and Dana Minney, MS, has found answers to some of their most compelling questions.

I’ve been following the research of Minney for a while now. She is 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. In Part I of this series, Minney discussed her study on district leadership and employee satisfaction, how her findings align with existing research on leadership best practices, and key themes in participants’ answers. Here, Minney goes into greater detail about what district office leaders can do. In particular, she helps us understand the power of adaptive leadership.

In a rapidly changing and challenging environment, how might district office leaders continue to attend and be responsive to employees' needs?

The rapid pace of change in education, including changes in the workforce (Diliberti & Schwartz, 2022), widening gaps in access to resources and outcomes between low and high SES students, and state mandates calling for equity in student and staff outcomes (TEA, 2019), to name a few, require a different kind of leadership and a different way of thinking. Bagwell (2020) suggested educational leaders embrace adaptive leadership practices. Adaptive leaders engage in participative leadership, which consists of fostering collaboration and including diverse perspectives in problem-solving. An adaptive style usually leads to better solutions and higher cooperation and is especially useful in times of rapid change.

Adaptive leadership is great for facilitating inclusion. What else can district leaders do?

Key data from participants who wanted leaders to “listen” and to “be heard” aligned with literature on adaptive communication practices such as “Protect and engage with dissenting voices from below,” (Heifetz et al., 2009, p. 145) a tactic used to foster the necessary psychological safety for discussing challenging issues (i.e. equity and system change). A second adaptive principle outlines the importance of developing the capacity of individuals and leaders to work together and empower employees to take risks. Similarly, participants wanted leaders to develop subordinates’ capacity for leadership by “trusting your expertise”. Participants’ responses also aligned with recent research on the necessity of quality feedback environments when they expressed a desire for leaders to develop protocols or mechanisms with which feedback could be given to and received by district leaders. Middelberg (2020, p. 14) determined that an environment that produces quality feedback data is a necessary component of ensuring continuous improvement.

Why is this kind of leadership important for schools and learning?

Right now there’s an increasing demand for equitable systems in education. This means all students, especially those historically underserved in public education such as students of color, immigrants, and low-income or emerging multilingual students, have equal opportunities to achieve academic success. Unfortunately, district leaders may not be prepared to meet the demand to lead with equity and implement system change.

How so?

Researchers Galloway and Ishimaru (2015) found standards for gauging district leaders’ performance may not sufficiently describe what leadership for equity looks like in practice nor what leaders might do to enable system change. Concrete suggestions for district leaders include: engaging in their own self-reflection, creating an enhanced feedback environment that supports data-based decision-making, and building collective capacity. System change is not immediate; rather it involves a continuous cycle. Therefore, each adaptation to bring about change depends on the quality, availability, and immediacy of data related to change efforts (Richardson & Patton, 2021).

Do you have any closing thoughts to help our readers?

Just as it is clear change doesn’t happen overnight, it is also clear system change doesn’t happen because of one person alone. District leaders must rely on district office staff to recreate district offices into efficient support centers. A robust district office staff and resilient relationships between district personnel and district leadership are crucial to meet demands and respond helpfully to teachers’ and principals’ changing needs.