1. NAIS Leadership Research
October 2002

2. Research Methodology
Conducted through both qualitative and quantitative research
Heads’ focus group, phone interviews, and print surveys to random selection of heads and school administrators

3. Key Findings Eight major areas:
Profile of current heads and administrators
Career paths
The leadership pipeline
Job satisfaction

4. Key Findings (cont.) Demands of the job Preparation for leadership
Mentoring
Diversity at the top

5. Profile of School Heads
Seven in ten NAIS heads are men
Less than 4% are people of color
A majority of heads (52%) are in their 50s
Most heads hold masters’ degrees or higher

6. Career Paths
Most heads and administrators have spent the bulk of their careers in independent education—24 years on average for heads and 14.6 years for administrators
Leaders are rarely promoted within their own schools—76% of school heads and 60% of school administrators were hired from outside their current schools

7. Career Paths: Tenure
The average tenure that current heads report is 8.1 years
The average for heads immediately preceding them is 9.6 years

8. Career Paths: The Preferred Track
64% of all heads were teachers at some point in their careers
36% were division heads or principals directly before becoming heads
Contrast the above to the following percentages on administrative jobs held directly before becoming head: admissions officer (5%), development officer (3%), business officer (2%), diversity coordinator (0)

9. The Leadership Pipeline: Changes Ahead
Nearly 4 in 10 heads (37%) report that they will change jobs or retire in the next 5 years
35% say that they will do the same in the next 6-10 years
53% of women want to move on in less than six years, whereas only 31% of men are planning to move in that same time period

10. When Heads Plan to Change Jobs or Retire

11. The Leadership Pipeline: Who’s Waiting in the Wings
Most school administrators, in general, are not interested in pursuing a headship in the future or even advancing into other leadership positions
Only 2 in 10 say they “definitely” (9%) or “probably” (11%) have as a goal to become a head of school
Only a third of school administrators report that they “definitely” (18%) or “probably” (15%) believe that one of their goals is to move up the ladder into any kind of further leadership position

12. The Leadership Pipeline: Who’s Waiting in the Wings
More than half of the administrators feel that they “definitely” (26%) or “probably” (29%) would rather stay in their current positions than move to more senior leadership positions
More than half of the administrators also believe that they “definitely” (35%) or “probably” (21%) would not like the demanding lifestyle of a head
More than half (52%) say that they don’t have the skills or experience to become a head

13. Administrators’ Views on Leadership

14. The Leadership Pipeline: The Ambitious Few
The greatest interest in becoming a head lies with those who are already assistant heads (46%) or division heads (36%)
Those who aspire to headships are largely male: 36% of the male administrators vs. 11% of the female administrators
Interest is slightly higher among people of color (27%) than white administrators (21%)

15. The Leadership Pipeline: The Ambitious Few
Those who aspire to headships are more likely to have had a mentor: 29% with mentors vs. 12% without
They are still young: 36% of those under 40 and 26% of those in their 40s aspire to be heads

16. The Leadership Pipeline: Perspectives on the Supply
Most administrators and heads agree that there is not an adequate supply of candidates for leadership positions currently. Only 10% of heads and 11% of administrators feel that there are more good candidates than there are positions.

17. The Leadership Pipeline: Perspectives on Search Firms
Heads and administrators have mixed emotions about the ability of search firms to identify strong candidates for headships. Only 3% of heads say they feel search firms excel at locating strong candidates “all the time”, while 35% feel this “most of the time” and 51% feel this “some of the time.”
Administrators express the same feelings in surprisingly similar percentages—2%, 38%, and 48% respectively.

18. Job Satisfaction
Eight in ten heads of school feel being the head is worth the stress “all the time” (23%) or “most of the time” (59%)
However, less than half of all school administrators believe this is the case “all the time” (6%) or “most of the time” (41%)

19. Job Satisfaction: Parenting and Headships: Mutually Exclusive?
Just thee in ten heads (30%) agree that being the head of school is too time consuming for it to be a desirable job for parents with children at home either “all the time” (7%) or “most of the time” (23%)
However, women heads and heads with the shortest tenure are slightly more likely (37%) to feel this is the case
Nearly half (49%) of all administrators think this is the case “all the time” (15%) or “most of the time” (34%)

20. Views about Time Commitments

21. Job Satisfaction: The Highs and the Lows
Heads report that they are very content with the following aspects of their work:
Working in independent education (68% “completely satisfied,” 29% “somewhat satisfied”)
City and town where they reside (61%, 28%)
Day-to-day safety at school (59%, 38%)
Working with their administrative team (58%, 38%)

22. Job Satisfaction: The Highs and the Lows (cont.)
Heads are very content with:
Level of discipline and behavior of students (52% “completely satisfied,” 43% “somewhat satisfied”)
The sense of community at their schools (52%, 40%)

23. Job Satisfaction: The Highs and the Lows (cont.)
Heads report the following as their greatest areas of dissatisfaction:
Schedule and time commitments (9% “completely satisfied,” 42% “somewhat satisfied”)
The amount of time they have for themselves and their families (8%, 35%)

24. Job Satisfaction: How Heads and Administrators Differ
There is an enormous amount of congruence between heads and administrators on their areas of job satisfaction, although there are some interesting areas of difference:
Fewer heads (42%) are “completely satisfied” with their interactions with students than administrators (56%)
Likewise, fewer heads (24%) are “completely satisfied” with their interactions with parents than administrators (35%)
On the other hand, a much smaller number of school administrators (23%) are “completely satisfied” with their compensation than heads (39%)

25. Demands of the Job
Independent school heads and administrators agree that providing vision and leadership and working with the school’s board are the greatest demands on the head’s time and energies
Beyond that, there are some interesting differences in how they perceive the job

26. Demands of the Job

27. Additional Demands—Percent who Also Teach

28. Preparation for Leadership
According to both heads and administrators, two types of experience make up the essential background for becoming a head:
Work in the independent school world
Teaching experience
Beyond that they perceive the value of various kinds of preparation quite differently

29. Importance of Different Skills/Experience

30. Are Those in the Pipeline Prepared to Step up to the Top Job?
Those administrators who feel most ready to take on headships are assistant/associate heads, those who teach, and those who have already decided they want to advance
And, in terms of responsibilities, they feel most prepared to work with parents and families (64% say “very well prepared”) and being available to students (59% say “very well prepared”)

31. Administrators’ Preparedness

32. The Mentoring Margin
Heads and administrators alike consider mentoring one of the most effective strategies for preparing more middle level staff for leadership positions
Nearly seven in ten (69%) heads—both women and men—indicate that they have had a mentor while working in independent schools
Most heads have themselves served as a mentor. Two-thirds of the heads (67%) say their mentees have gone on to become heads

33. Diversity at the Top
Today, less than 4% of school heads are people of color
Nearly eight in ten heads (79%) say a top factor is too few people of color in the pipeline in other positions in independent schools
A majority of heads (51%) also call a reluctance among search committees to hire non-traditional heads a major factor

34. Diversity at the Top: The Glass Ceiling?
About half of all heads and school administrators believe that people of color and women confront a glass ceiling that prevents them from moving up the ranks at least “some of the time”
Nearly six in ten heads (58%) believe there is a glass ceiling for people of color at least “some of the time”—2% say this is true “all the time,” 16% say this is true “most of the time,” and 40% say “some of the time”

35. Diversity at the Top: The Glass Ceiling? (cont.)
Forty-six percent of heads report there is a glass ceiling for women trying to advance at least “some of the time”—1% say “all the time,” 8% say “most of the time,” and 37% say “some of the time”

36. Perceptions of Glass Ceiling

37. People of Color Perceive the Glass Ceiling Differently
75% of administrators who are people of color compared to 46% of their white counterparts believe that a glass ceiling functions in schools at least “some of the time”
In another example, 81% of heads of color compared to only 49% of white heads believe that trustees are reluctant to hire outside the traditional mold

38. Are Women Less Ambitious?
Women in administrative positions express less ambition for leadership than do their male colleagues—36% of men and only 12% of women say they “definitely” or “probably” want to become a head of school
In addition, 42% of the men and only 27% of the women express an interest in moving up the ladder into other leadership positions

39. Is Something Else at Play?
Women are more likely to see barriers to their advancement than men:
Only 22% of the male heads say that an old boys network is still in place to favor men, while 51% of the female heads say that it is alive and well
32% of female heads believe that passing over women in favor of traditional male candidates is a major barrier to more female leaders, but only 12% of male heads feel that is the case

40. The NAIS Response The Leadership Development Program
The Edward E. Ford Fellows Program
Topical workshops in collaboration with Klingenstein
Partnership with BoardSource
New head search process interactive guide

41. Thank You
Donna Orem
Vice President, Information, Research, and Strategic Initiatives
NAIS
1620 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036