Why So Difficult? Exploring Negative Relationships between Educational Leaders: The Role of Trust, Climate, and Efficacy

Recent work suggests the importance of collaboration among district-office and school leaders. Most studies examine prosocial relationships, but negative social ties, which may be more consequential, are rarely examined. We collected survey data from 78 educational leaders on perceptions of culture and negative relationships and used social-network analysis to examine the likelihood of leaders forming negative relationships. Findings indicate that “senders” of negative ties tended to be district-office leaders, who often reported higher efficacy and perceived less trust, whereas “receivers” of negative ties were more likely to perceive more trust and have been employed in the district longer.