Abstract
Purpose. This study sought to identify what leadership skills experts believe will expand and enhance the leadership capacity and sustainability of future private school administrators and determine the leadership skills on which the experts were able to find consensus that would have the greatest impact on those administrators' success. Methodology. Using a three-round Delphi technique, a panel of nineteen experts identified leadership skills that will have the greatest impact on the success of future private school administrators by expanding and enhancing their leadership capacity and sustainability. Median scores, calculated as measures of central tendency, and interquartile ranges, calculated as measures of dispersion, indicated the degree of importance and consensus for the identified skills. Findings. The experts identified sixty-four leadership skills grouped under four broad categories: technical, conceptual, human, and spiritual. The experts came to consensus on twenty-three of those skills that potentially would have the greatest impact on future administrators' success. Conclusions. The data indicate that the skills effective future leaders of private schools should cultivate include vision production and casting, clear and persuasive communication, team building, conflict resolution and problem solving, systems thinking, networking, organizational culture management, program management, mentoring and coaching, change and transition leadership, and interpersonal relationships. The study data supported the conclusion that leadership is a social process rather than a technical one. Spiritual skills, those that enhance and expand personal capacity, are foundational for the success of leaders, who must create a shared vision that engages others, develop and expand the leadership capacity of others, develop meaningful relationships with others in the organization and in the community, and be a moral agent and provide spiritual leadership to the school community. Implications. Educators and professional organizations should design professional preparation programs for administrators that emphasize more than only instructional and managerial leadership and for private school board members that train them in recruiting and hiring administrators that demonstrate these identified skills. Administrators should use mentors or accountability coaches to guide them through personal spiritual disciplines, provide outlets to ensure emotional health, and facilitate means for self-understanding, self-improvement, and self-confidence to increase personal capacity and sustainability.