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Building Leadership Agility Across a School System

For Pitt County Schools, leadership development needed to support more than the people in formal leadership roles. Serving more than 24,000 students across 37 schools in eastern North Carolina, the district operates in a diverse community shaped by continual growth and change. Its leaders needed to develop the people skills, adaptability and influence required to support its community effectively. 

This case study explores how Pitt County Schools partnered with The Center for Leadership Studies (CLS) to develop a practical, repeatable approach to leadership development and coaching. The district sought a framework that could bring consistency to leadership practices across its schools while remaining flexible enough to address different people and tasks, with learning that could be readily reinforced over time. 

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The Challenge 

Pitt County Schools (PCS) it needed school leaders who could effectively navigate a wide range of relationships and responsibilities. Assistant principals, in particular, were expected to work with senior leaders, teachers, students, parents and community members while influencing in multiple directions throughout the organization. PCS wanted to strengthen the leadership capabilities needed to support those varied interactions while creating a more consistent approach to performance, development and coaching conversations across the district. 

The district was looking for more than a one-time training experience. PCS needed an approach that could create shared practices across the system while remaining adaptable to different people and tasks. The learning needed to be practical enough to reinforce through monthly discussions and regular application, allowing leadership development to become part of an ongoing process rather than a single event. 

Key challenges included: 

  • Developing the people skills and leadership agility of school leaders
  • Establishing a common language and approach to leading, coaching and influencing
  • Securing visible support and participation from senior leadership
  • Selecting a credible, research-based model that was practical to learn and apply
  • Balancing consistency across the system with adaptation to individual and task-specific needs
  • Extend learning through continued practice and reinforcement

Client Snapshot 

  • Industry: Education
  • Size: 1,000+ employees; 24,000+ students
  • Location: Eastern North Carolina
  • Description: Public school system

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The Solution 

Pitt County Schools began by engaging the superintendent’s leadership team in a two-day strategy and leadership retreat. The group examined a major organizational priority, identified the support school leaders needed and considered how leadership development could help the district respond to change. 

The work then expanded to principals and assistant principals, with almost 100 school leaders participating as they prepared for the new school year. Senior leaders shared their own learning and acknowledged where they had previously provided too little direction to school administrators. That transparency helped establish a clear expectation that leadership would need to adapt to the person, the task and the circumstances. 

Implementation continued through assessments, internal delivery capability and recurring application. Leadership and professional development staff were certified to deliver the learning internally. Monthly meetings incorporated refreshers, task identification, coaching preparation and rehearsal, allowing leaders to practice the Situational Leadership® Model as part of their regular development work.

Key components of the solution included: 

  • Executive alignment through a two-day strategy planning retreat for the superintendent’s leadership team 
  • Leadership development for the superintendent’s leadership team, principals and assistant principals 
  • Internal certification for leadership and professional development staff 
  • Ongoing practice and rehearsal focused on real leadership and coaching situations 
  • Integration of leadership and coaching concepts into assessments, development plans, strategic planning and communication

Related Solutions: 

Situational Leadership® Essentials

Situational Coaching®

Situational Change Leadership™

Custom Solutions

The Results

Participation changed how system and school leaders interpreted performance. The Situational Leadership® Model became embedded in leadership and development practices across PCS, informing assessments, development plans, strategic planning and communication. Its application extended beyond school administrators as teacher leaders and master teachers used task definition and Performance Readiness® Levels when coaching and supporting colleagues. Teachers increasingly recognized potential classroom applications of the model’s concepts for educational outcomes and classroom management. As leaders continued to strengthen their use of the Situational Leadership® framework, PCS planned a next phase focused on further integrating coaching into leader development processes.

~100 School Leaders

Completed Situational Leadership® programs

Testimonial

[The Situational Leadership® Model] has really helped us become more intentional in how we lead and how we support the teachers that we’re working with and ultimately, the students.

Thomas Feller Director of Professional Learning and Leadership Development Pitt County Schools
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Ready to strengthen your organization’s leadership? Our team can help you build a practical development experience that gives your leaders a consistent approach while helping them adapt to the people and situations they lead.

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