Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Cindy Petersen

Second Advisor

Jonathan Greenberg

Third Advisor

George Sziraki

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and explain how exemplary superintendents in Northern California practice vulnerability to build trust within their organizations, guided by Brené Brown’s framework of vulnerability-based leadership: Authenticity, courage over comfort, curiosity and learning, practicing empathy, and leading with heart. An additional purpose was to examine the challenges these leaders encounter when practicing vulnerability in complex public education contexts. This study addresses a gap in leadership research by providing empirical insight into how vulnerability functions as a trust-building practice at the highest level of K–12 educational leadership.

Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological design was employed to explore the lived experiences of 10 exemplary superintendents from public school districts in Northern California. Participants were selected through purposeful and convenience sampling based on established criteria for exemplary leadership. Data were collected through semi-structured, open-ended interviews, supported by literature. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns aligned with the research questions.

Findings: Findings indicated that vulnerability is enacted through intentional leadership behaviors rather than indiscriminate openness. Superintendents practiced authenticity through transparent communication; courage over comfort through principled decision-making despite criticism; curiosity and learning through active listening and responsiveness to feedback; empathy through emotional attunement and presence; and leading with heart through relationship-centered, values-driven leadership. Participants also reported significant constraints, including emotional labor, political pressure, positional authority, professional isolation, and the risk of vulnerability being misinterpreted as weakness.

Conclusions: Vulnerability emerged as a disciplined, context-dependent leadership practice essential for building relational trust in complex public education systems. The findings suggest that effective vulnerability is not solely an individual trait but is shaped by organizational, political, and relational conditions that influence leaders’ willingness to engage authentically.

Recommendations: Recommendations include developing governance norms, organizational supports, and professional structures that enable transparency, principled decision-making, reflective learning, empathy, and values alignment while mitigating the emotional and political risks associated with vulnerable leadership.

Keywords: Educational leadership, superintendents, vulnerability in leadership, trust in organizations, relational trust, authentic leadership, K–12 education, qualitative research, phenomenological research, school district leadership.

Download

Share

COinS