58 collaborating with the Board, leading and managing complex change, on-boarding, training and developing leaders, relational competence, strategic management and improvement, and political acumen. Leadership, superintendent leadership, superintendent preparation, superintendent selection by Boards, the superintendent cabinet, and certain superintendent qualities all play a critical role in superintendent longevity. The review of the literature focused on defining leadership, the leadership roles of the superintendent, superintendent preparation, the superintendent selection process, the superintendent cabinet, and the characteristics of superintendents with longevity. The review of research provided a framework for understanding the challenges associated with the superintendency and the rate at which superintendents leave the job. The superintendent has evolved into one of the most complex leadership roles in society today (Short & Scribner, 2001, p. 1). Because of these complexities, Clark (2001) suggests that “The position of superintendent is evolving into a temporary position” (p. 40). It is because of these challenges, Cuban (1985) presents that “conflict has become the DNA of the superintendency” (p. 28). The superintendent is tasked with being a situational leader, dealing with different people and different situations, and using different leadership styles. Superintendents are faced with many challenges as the Chief Executive Officer and leader of a school district. Those challenges include socioeconomic conditions, budget shortfalls, a push to strengthen academic rigor, rising demands for state assessments, and improved student preparation for higher education. The situation and the leader in the situation generally determine the leadership style used. Many other authors and researchers agree that the role of the superintendent is an important role that comes with many challenges, both internal and external, that make moving a school district very difficult. Those challenges include academic achievement, financial and budget challenges, student assessments, and politics. While longevity of the role of the superintendent has seen a slight increase, there is still much room for improvement. Methodology A qualitative research methodological approach, which is exploratory in nature, was used in the current study. Rather than looking at specific quantitative variables, the research took a holistic view of the characteristics and contributions of school district superintendents who have exceeded the state and national average of 3 to 3.5 years in the job. During the interviews, participants were asked six questions to gain their insights into what they believed were the key difficulties and challenges that superintendents face that may threaten their longevity in their roles. With the questions, the researcher also sought to learn what the participants believed were the key characteristics needed for longevity as a superintendent, and methods and/or ways that those characteristics can be established for ensuring such longevity. Participants provided in-depth insights into the challenges of the superintendency, which focused on the challenges in building trust and collaborating with the Board, challenges associated with leading and managing complex change, and other difficulties in onboarding, developing, and retaining leaders who can support the superintendent and the vision of the district. To face such challenges, participants offered multiple relational competencies, political competencies, and personal characteristics they believed were needed to ensure success and longevity in the superintendent role. They also offered many suggestions of approaches that others might consider in hiring and leading a cabinet and managing strategy in the district. Taken together, these observations may have the potential to support future superintendents who seek to avoid the common threats faced in their first few years in the role, and enable them to beat the odds, outlasting the average tenure of those who may fail to take these insights into consideration. The results of the qualitative analysis of the participant interview responses were consistent with much of the literature reviewed in the current study. The results from the interviews provided even more depth and understanding to the challenges associated with the superintendency, as well as the leadership characteristics of the participant superintendents with longevity. Michael Hill, EdD
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