Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the achievement of work-life balance by female educational leaders as they rose to the position of public school superintendent by exploring the obstacles to work-life balance encountered, the support received from other professionals and from family members, the skills developed, and the strategies employed as they rose through the ranks of educational leadership while attempting to achieve work-life balance. Methodology. This qualitative study was accomplished through face-to-face interviews with female superintendents. The interviews were conducted, recorded, coded, and sorted to create biographical narratives from which the researcher could identify factors, processes, and aspects of decision making that influenced the choices and shaped the lives of the interviewees. The answers were plotted across frequency matrices to discover similarities and differences, and to determine patterns. Findings. Findings indicate that the position of public school superintendent is a job that requires a dedication almost beyond human capacity, and the women who ascend to this position accept the commitment willingly, knowing they will have to make inordinate personal sacrifices to do the job well. These women expressed an ability to see beyond their own personal boundaries and possessed a capacity to visualize their work as a larger contribution to the local community and to society as a whole. Conclusions. All of the superintendents interviewed in this study revealed that the achievement of work-life balance factored highly in their lives; however, none of the superintendents interviewed believed they were good at achieving it. The superintendents interviewed for this study acknowledged, identified, and discussed many obstacles to work-life balance as they rose to the position of superintendent, but they attributed the support they received from parents, partners, children, grandchildren, and colleagues as pivotal to their career aspirations and critical to their ability to overcome obstacles. Recommendations. Further research is advised to determine if the difficulties encountered while attempting to achieve work-life balance are similar for male superintendents. Additionally, further research is needed to determine if the difficulties encountered are similar in other professions beyond the field of education and/or if the difficulties encountered are increasing, decreasing, or changing over time.