Fierce Leadership-Perspectives of Black Women Educational Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The authors of this transcendental phenomenological study aimed to describe the lived experiences of Black women based on their perceptions, values, and beliefs about the complexities of leadership and the kind of leadership required to succeed in their respective roles, as educational leaders. This study was framed by the adaptive leadership theory. Adaptive leadership recognizes the need for leaders to stay flexible and resilient in fast-paced environments (Nelson & Squires, 2017). The three Black women leaders in this study were fierce adaptive leaders. The information acquired from this study is significant and highlights how Black women educational leaders developed the competencies, built the capacity, acquired the self-efficacy, and developed the resilience needed to adapt and successfully navigate cultural, societal, racial, gender-related, and political obstacles throughout their careers in education. Implications from this study are far-reaching and note-worthy for any position in educational leadership. Recognizing the qualities of Black women leaders and the fact that many of these qualities improve leadership may enable us to change the way that people view leaders in general (Harvard Business School, 2024).