This qualitative research article examines successful school leadership at the level of school superintendent. The article offers practical suggestions to help practicing leaders in education.

Leadership is a discipline that has been studied to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Owing to the attention and emphasis that education has been subject to in recent decades, the study of successful school leadership presents an area worth examining (Smith & Piele, 1997). Therefore, the research underpinning this article examined leadership behaviors of superintendents in school districts in Ohio who were judged to be successful by virtue of consistently positive student test results on state testing protocols.

Regardless of whether school organizations are in the United States or other countries, leadership is an essential factor that helps determine success or failure. Smith and Piele (1997) noted that effective leadership in school organizations has a positive impact on student learning. Without high-quality leadership, school organizations may flounder until they become obsolete, extinct, or irrelevant—terms that critics often use when discussing public schools in the United States and elsewhere.