K‐12 principals exhibiting authentic leadership and the benefits derived from teacher trust in the principal beg for attention in today's educational milieu. Authentic leadership scholars proposed a major conceptual framework, which linked authentic leadership to follower's attitudes and behaviors. The framework purported that authentic leadership leads to trust, yet is mediated through personal and organizational identification. The current study empirically tested these relationships within the context of principals and teachers in the K‐12 setting. The context is ideal because principals are increasingly called upon to create open, collaborative, and positive learning communities. Nineteen public and private schools in the state of Maryland participated in the study, with 398 teachers (77% response rate) responding. The results support a framework of principals exhibiting authentic leadership where personal identification is a mediator in the causal pathway from authentic leadership to teacher trust. The results do not substantiate the framework regarding organizational identification being a mediator in the same causal pathway. Educational leaders can view the study as prescriptive, thereby building overall trust in the often strained asymmetrical relationship between administrators and teachers.

Kindergarten through second‐grade elementary schools that best serve students with dyslexia have principals who are knowledgeable about dyslexia and understand the best practices for providing intervention for students with dyslexia. In this study, three styles of leadership were examined to understand the implication that leadership has on intervention for dyslexia: transformational, instructional, and integrated leadership. However, many students in elementary schools have difficulty learning to read despite good leadership by the principal, with 5–20% of students being diagnosed with dyslexia. While these students need phonetic, multisensory intervention to build necessary reading skills, this study found that many principals lack knowledge of this specialized instruction. The purpose of this research was to explore variables that determine the school‐based level of appropriate intervention for students with dyslexia. A questionnaire assessing leadership skills, knowledge, and beliefs about dyslexia, preparation in reading disorders and/or dyslexia received from degree programs and professional development, and services provided to students with dyslexia was given to K‐2 principals serving in schools across the United States. Results indicated that regardless of leadership style, principals who have greater knowledge and more correct beliefs about dyslexia provide more appropriate school‐based services for students with dyslexia. Eight detailed K‐2 principal/practitioner recommendations are included based upon this key finding.

With the backdrop of the utility of grit at the individual level, speculation has begun to circulate that grit may exist as an organizational level phenomenon. To explore this potential construct, this study used an exploratory, qualitative research design. This study explored grit at the organizational level by interviewing leaders’ perceptions of what may be a culture of organizational grit. Participants included 14 U.S. military officers. Seven themes emerged relative to the research question: “What do U.S. military officers perceive as a culture of organizational grit?” Themes included professional pride, team unity, resilience-determination, mission accomplishment, core values, growth mindset, and deliberate practice. This study indicated that a culture of organizational grit is likely a combination of converging organizational elements. Overall, findings indicate that there may be a culture of organizational grit in the military and at the least, more research examining the concept is warranted.