Principles of Power: Women Superintendents and the Riddle of the Heart

Citation

Miller‐Whitehead, M. (2001), "Principles of Power: Women Superintendents and the Riddle of the Heart", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 394-398. https://doi.org/10.1108/jea.2001.39.4.394.1

This book would make a worthy addition to the bookshelf of those interested in qualitative analysis of the superintendency. Providing intimate insights into the dreams, triumphs, challenges, and the unique role each plays as a rara avis in a position long dominated by men, it is a collection drawn from extensive interviews with 12 women school superintendents. The author of Sacred Dreams: Women and the Superintendency, C. Cryss Brunner is joint director of the UCEA Joint Program Center for the Study of the Superintendency and the 1996‐97 recipient of the National Academy of Education’s Spencer Fellowship, as well as the author of numerous journal articles.

A note of warning to begin with: if the book’s title weren’t sufficient indication of its perspective (and it is), the reader interested mainly in statistics will not find them here. There aren’t any, or at least only enough to satisfy the demands of those who require evidence of scholarly methodology. The work is an ethnography, it is empirical, but more related to cultural anthropology than to any sort of quantitative analysis. Not that the text is lacking in data or in scholarly rigor. Brunner, a student of Carlos Castanada, has organized the text thematically according to his “seven principles of power”. These principles of power are derived from studies of the mythology, ritual, and warrior training of the Yaqui Indians of northern Mexico. The precepts of leadership are applied metaphorically to the female leaders who provide the framework of Brunner’s text. The wealth of metaphor, the lyrical and sensitive narratives elicited from these women by Brunner in the course of her interviews, provide a powerful framework for the study. Students of ancient world cultures and religions will find interesting parallels here between the Yaqui way and other warrior‐priest epics, particularly Celtic, in which women have been leaders or visionaries. It should be emphasised that contrary to what the theme might lead one to expect, the book is not regional. It is not about the West or Southwest; the 12 women superintendents were purposely selected from each region of the country.

In this case, the seven principles are: knowing the battleground; discarding the unnecessary; choosing battles; taking risks; seeking retreat; compressing time; and exercising power. The ability to apply the seven principles is evidence of mastery and results in the “riddle of the heart”. The astute reader will draw some parallels with Covey’s seven principles for leadership.

However, while Covey’s analysis and guidelines are for the most part gender‐free, Brunner’s are not: this is most emphatically about what it means to be a woman in a position of leadership. How do these woman superintendents deal with issues such as communicating with the public, relocating for the job, raising children, interviewing, spending long hours at work, losing privacy, dealing with off‐colour jokes, being the only woman at the meeting, and sometimes having to live apart from families to pursue careers? These are some of the challenges and risks that each of these women faced, at times with disappointing results. Some of the women chose to remain anonymous, but all were selected based on being identified as very successful in their roles as superintendents, not “female superintendents” in the sense that Johnson is reported to have remarked, “Sir, a woman preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all”. These women all “do it well”.

The book is organised into three parts and 16 chapters; this is a book that can be sampled or consumed whole, and although organised logically it needn’t be read in any particular order to be meaningful. However, be certain to read the introduction by Charol Shakeshaft. She provides an excellent overview and also, for those interested, some statistics on the superintendency and national trends on women superintendents. For those interested in the specifics of data collection and methodology, begin with Chapter 1; if not, begin with Chapter 3 (if you are unfamiliar with Castanada’s precepts) or Chapter 5 to set forth on the journey of discovery. There is a good bibliography and a rather limited index. Throughout, Brunner emphasises the linkages between the imagery of the warrior, the patience required of those who would be successful in the hunt, and the inner strength which must be acquired and which is required by those women who seek and win leadership positions.

While the use of native American imagery might portend a theoretical approach, the emphasis is always on practice and situational leadership. Gender bias, whether you have to act like a man, the myth of sex and power, compliance with federal and state guidelines, what’s legal, the school board, hot flashes, the bus schedule, the school calendar: these women discuss it all. And so the journey through the book is truly a buffet experience, there is a little something for almost anyone interested in the superintendency. And even if one is not, much the same precepts apply to women in any sort of leadership position, whether it be in education or the world of business. It is a book for those interested in studying what it is like to be a woman in a position of power. And the superintendency is a position of power; the not only because of responsibility it entails for the welfare and education of children, but as an economic force. Many people do not realise that often the school system is the largest employer in their community and may have a bigger budget than any business in town. So truly, while the imagery of the warrior may seem at first somewhat out of place in a text about women and education, Brunner is able to make the connection remarkably well without seeming contrived.

Brunner’s approach is unique and she provides an interesting read, accessible for those with a casual interest in the subject, yet well grounded in scholarship for the serious researcher.