Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 7

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 5 Introduction Leadership succession has an enormous impact on an organization. Establishing a new administration or order presents challenges, but leadership change is one of the most significant and vulnerable times for an organization (Grusky, 1961). The charter superintendent role is “demanding and complex” and requires leaders with business acumen, instructional leadership capacity, and leadership qualities (National Alliance for Public Charter Schools [NAPCS], 2008, p. 4). The superintendency is often considered a career with many challenges: short tenure, unstable futures, severe school system financial issues, complex political dynamics, mandated state and national regulation, and other local problems unique to each community (Berryhill, 2009). The leadership transition of a superintendent in a Texas public charter school has substantial implications for the future of its educational system. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the process of succession planning as perceived by charter school superintendents in North Texas. Review of Literature Succession planning is not a new concept, but its application in the field of education is not as prevalent as one might think (Bradley, 2016; Campbell, 2010; Campbell, Gross, & Lake, 2008). Leadership succession is best known for occurring in the private sector, specifically in the fields of business and the health care industry (Bradley, 2016). Kesner and Sebora (1994) concluded “when it comes to executive succession, there is little that we know conclusively, much that we do not know, and even more that we have not yet studied” (p. 327). The lack of leadership succession research is probably due to the fact that succession planning in schools is not common (Campbell, 2010; Campbell et al., 2008); concerning the public school superintendency, “it seems to hardly happen at all” (Lafee, 2013, p. 24). Although leaders in both the private and public sector believe that succession is important, few have actually developed a clear strategy to plan for what is inevitable (Grusky, 1961). Research of both traditional (Bradley, 2016) and charter school (Campbell et al., 2008) superintendent succession plans show that most are incomplete or non-existent (Lafee, 2013). Lack of succession planning in schools puts them at risk of academic and financial instability (Hanover Research, 2015; Olson, 2008). Although superintendent succession planning may be a difficult subject for a charter superintendent, staff, and board to face, experience suggests that it can turn an executive’s exit from a difficult challenge into an occasion for organizational growth and maturation (Campbell, 2010). Founder leaders will face a set of challenges that are different from those that confront a third or fourth generation executive (Berryhill, 2009; Burns, 1978; Carlson, 1961; Tuomala, Yeh, & Milway, 2018; Wasserman, 2008). Many other variables, from funding sources to a growing need for greater staff diversity, can affect the strategy an organization takes toward an impending leadership transition (Wasserman, 2003, 2008). But the need to look Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2020, VOL. 4, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION: THE ROLE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT IN SUCCESSION PLANNING AT TEXAS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS Brent Wilson, EdD