Transitioning with Integrity and Foresight
April 01, 2020
Appears in April 2020: School Administrator.
How to exit a superintendency with your reputation intact and your district well-positioned to move on to new leadership
"He was angry when he left the school district, and he didn't want to provide any assistance or guidance to whomever followed."
“Some information I received from my predecessor was helpful, but she did not leave behind a lot of files,
so my first year was spent recreating work that had probably already been completed.”
These comments, solicited from first-year superintendents, illustrate what many superintendents face when they transition into their new leadership
role. Preliminary findings from a new multistate study of transitions in the superintendency conducted by the authors indicate only one in four superintendents report that their predecessor was helpful in transitioning to a new role.
Superintendent turnover, while inevitable, often becomes a highly disconnecting and disconcerting occurrence for school boards, central-office administrators, school-based personnel and others. Yet there are steps superintendents
can take to help their successors transition effectively during this period.
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Authors
About the Authors
Michael Schwanenberger, a former superintendent, is department chair of educational leadership at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Howard Carlson is superintendent of the Wickenburg Unified School District in Wickenburg, Ariz.
Frank Davidson, a former superintendent, is an assistant professor of educational leadership at Northern Arizona University.
Trust Building at the Outset
A key component of any superintendent transition is the need of the newcomer to build a relationship banking on trust. From our collective 39 years in the superintendency, we suggest that trust-building begin with an understanding of these steps.
- Expect it to take hard work.
Trust must be earned. It comes from conscious effort to walk your talk, keep your promises and align your behavior with organizational and employee values. Building trust is worth the effort because once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to recover. - Be honest and supportive.
Even when it’s difficult, tell the truth and not just say what you think people want to hear. Understand what employees need to know and communicate facts while being considerate of their efforts and sensitive to their feelings. Show support and understanding for your team members, even when mistakes are made. It goes a long way in building trust as a leader. And always remember this: Praise in public, criticize in private. - Commit to follow through.
Even the best-intended talk is hollow if not followed by corresponding action. Say you’ll do something only if you are able to follow through; don’t commit if there is a chance you won’t be able to deliver. Breaking a commitment can destroy trust you’ve built and make people less inclined to trust you in the future. - Be consistent.
Constantly doing what you say you’ll do builds trust — consistent action can’t be something you do only occasionally. Keeping commitments must be the essence of your behavior, in all relationships, day after day, and year after year. - Model the behavior you seek.
Nothing speaks more loudly about the culture of an organization than the leader’s behavior, which influences employee actions and their ability to achieve results. If you say teamwork is important, reinforce the point by collaborating across teams and functions. Give credit when people do great work and you’ll set the stage for an appreciative culture.
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