The Quest for Elusive Candidates

The superintendent shortage crisis in New York state seems to have no boundaries. According to search consultants who recently led four superintendent searches in upstate New York, none of the openings attracted more than 13 applicants. Three of the districts were smaller rural districts, but the surprising statistic is that the fourth district, a wealthy suburban district, attracted the same number of applicants as the other three.

That’s a startling reality, especially when you consider this: AASA’s 2010 decennial study of the American school superintendency discovered just about half (51 percent) of responding superintendents said they intended to maintain that role in 2015. There is no reason to believe this trend will not continue. As such, now is the time to discuss leadership succession in school communities nationwide.

The accumulating data paint a picture of turnover at the top. The New York State Council of School Superintendents, in its 9th Triennial Study of the Superintendency (Snapshot IX) released in March, drew a familiar picture:

• The average current age of new superintendents is 50.2 years old;
• The mean age of chief school officers is 53.5 years old; and
• Almost one-third of superintendents plan to retire by 2018.

Notably, on the subject of superintendent succession, the same study found women superintendents tend to be promoted internally more frequently than men. The overall percentage of superintendents hired from outside the district decreased from 60 percent to 56 percent over the past three years.

Measures to Manage

During the past seven years, search consultants with whom we have worked have assisted 35 school districts across a swath of upstate New York as they have searched for and helped communities select new superintendents. Many of those districts reached good-fitting outcomes using the guidelines we spell out below. While succession planning can be overwhelming, it can be manageable.

The work includes these 10 components.

1. A process to identify potential leaders.

The best candidates are tapped on the shoulder by a sitting superintendent, not self-identified. To better pull those leaders out of a group, school districts should think about participating in a leadership program similar to AASA’s Aspiring Superintendents Academy (see related story, below) that will continuously train and prepare future leaders and ensure every new administrator appointee has a mentor to help him or her.

2. A succession built into a school district’s culture.

This happens through transparency and inclusion. Top leadership should be open about the goals and discuss the desired outcomes during implementation with school and community members. If all are at least privy to those details, a succession plan is more likely to succeed.

Open communication between the superintendent and board of education on succession planning is imperative, especially when using the method we call Process-Program-Progress. This method refers to the process of developing the actual plan, the program to train or develop education leaders and the progress, or desired outcome, once succession has taken place.

With the Process-Program-Progress method, you prevent or minimize the customary upheaval that often occurs in a district during the conduct of the search and the acclimation of the new leader over the ensuing 6-12 months. This carries the added benefit of sustaining strategic planning.

3. Regional planning in rural areas with small schools.

Districts that join together with neighboring schools will be able to combine their best talent. This will create a larger pool of potential administrators than simply naming someone in a single school or district. It also takes into account that some potentially strong administrators are educators who like their rural or small-town lifestyles. Getting one of these strong leaders to move to a larger district may be impossible, but getting a cohort ready for a region of small or rural schools can create new opportunities and make for a powerful model. (See related story.)

4. Avoiding the crown prince.

Rather than the superintendent picking a successor, the process needs to include stakeholders. Make it a collective choice with the superintendent and board of education. Our research shows that leaders tend to be drawn toward other leaders who resemble them. Because white males have traditionally filled the majority of superintendencies, K-12 education draws few minority and female candidates for open positions. A broader approach will widen the field of potential candidates and increase the diversity of talent.

5. Horizontal and vertical preparation that starts immediately.

Succession planning should commence the moment the superintendent assumes his or her leadership role. Look at existing leaders as well as potential leaders in the district and prepare them for multiple positions that might open up. 
This allows for smooth transitions at all levels of leadership, making an overall organization stronger and able to focus on moving forward.

6. Working with the board of education.

Help board members understand the role of the superintendent in the leadership transition process. Of course, board members must understand the board’s role in governance, too, to ensure success of the new district CEO.

7. Giving the community a voice.

Help community members understand they have a voice and a stake in the hiring process. Also make it clear theirs is not always the deciding voice. Defining the process on the front end during the search is imperative. It is helpful to remind the community that hiring a superintendent is the No. 1 job of the school board. That is the first thing you need to do and do it often.

8. Casting a wide net.

At the beginning of a search to fill an administrative post, take time to drill down and weed out candidates who likely are not a good fit, but only after you generate the most diverse set of candidates possible. This means not filtering for academic degrees, residency and particular experiences, such as either a business or curriculum background.

9. Allowing time for transition.

Time must be provided for the new leader to transition — with the outgoing superintendent plus the secretarial and administrative staffs. Sometimes, a mass exit of support staff or central-office administrators follows a transition at the top, leaving the new leader without someone who can share the history of the organization. That history needs to be provided for a new leader to effectively move forward.

10. A districtwide succession document.

Finally, the formalized succession plan should become a working, living roadmap for boards and future leaders. To do this, the superintendent must understand the district makeup and what beliefs, culture, climate and values exist in the community.