Meetings Matter: How Routine Meetings and Meeting Routines Influence District Principal Pipeline Leadership

• In Event: District Leadership for Equity and Inclusion: Structures and Practices That Sustain Equitable Leadership Practices

Abstract

Principal pipeline initiatives are gaining traction across the country as an approach districts can take to grow, stabilize, and diversify principal leadership. But what does it take to actually lead such a complex effort? Drawn from data gathered in a broader year-long, qualitative, embedded case study of pipeline leadership in one district, this paper goes beyond describing what pipelines entail to shine light on the daily work that leading an equity-focused principal pipeline effort demands. Framed by organizational learning and organizational sensemaking theories, findings suggest that routine meetings—often dismissed as central office work that distracts from the “real work” of supporting equitable schooling—matter to how leaders can continuously improve the multifaceted leadership support that pipelines aim to provide.

Author

• Emily Donaldson Walsh, University of Washington