Superintendent Leadership: Is Survival a Leadership Strategy?

Another school year, into the books! And what did I accomplish this year? Regarding my professional goals, I accomplished a lot. If you ask me about my personal goals, that’s harder, and I’m just not sure. DOES SURVIVING COUNT?

Yes, there were strategic wins. Problems solved. Initiatives advanced. Crises managed. It looks like success. But in quieter moments, I ask a harder question:

Did I simply endure this year, or did I grow through it?

Survival Is Not a Leadership Strategy

In educational leadership, survival is often mistaken for resilience. They are not the same. Survival says, I made it through. Resilience asks, What did this season teach me? How did it change me as a leader?

Superintendents are often expected to be visionaries, problem-solvers, and stabilizers all at once. Yet too few have structured space for reflection, the kind that turns experience into wisdom. High-achieving, career-loving superintendents know the power behind reflection and leverage this to sustain themselves and others.

The Superintendent’s Loneliness Is Real

And despite popular belief, leadership at the district level can be profoundly isolating. You may have a cabinet. You may have a board. You may have colleagues.

But many superintendents still lack a true thought partner, someone outside the politics, outside evaluation, outside the noise, who can help them think, challenge assumptions, and sharpen decision-making. Research proves that superintendents who can identify someone in this capacity for them, last longer and find more fulfillment in their career.

A Better End-of-Year Reflection

Instead of ending the year with “What did I get done?” try asking:

• What did I learn about myself as a leader?

• What drained me unnecessarily?

• What deserves to be carried forward?

• What needs to be released before next year begins?

• What do I vow to never do again?

Maybe Surviving Does Count… But It Shouldn’t Be the Goal

If this year felt like survival, give yourself some grace. Superintendent leadership is not for the faint of heart. And yes, sometimes making it through is an accomplishment. But surviving cannot be the aspiration because the strongest district leaders aren’t the ones who carry everything alone. They’re the ones who make reflection a discipline, growth a habit, and support a strategy.

What is calling for development at this stage of your career?

Before launching into another year, perhaps the question is not simply:

What does my district need next?

But: What wants developing in me? More courage? More clarity? More ease in leading through complexity? More alignment between how I lead and who I want to be? More compassion and patience?

Sometimes, it’s a gut feeling or intuition. Other times, you recall a theme in the feedback given to you throughout the year. Or, it’s something that you recognize in others that you wish you could embody yourself.

Whatever it is, can you do more than just survive?

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