







































Education, Language and Sociology Research 
ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 2, No. 1, 2021 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr 

Original Paper 

Leading Outside the Box: Principal Engagement in 

Entrepreneurial Mindset in Their Leadership  
Louis S. Nadelson1* & Stacey Loyless1 

1 Department of Leadership Studies, College of Education, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR, 

USA 
* Louis S. Nadelson, Department of Leadership Studies, College of Education, University of Central 

Arkansas, Conway, AR, USA 

 

Received: February 3, 2021   Accepted: February 17, 2021   Online Published: February 27, 2021 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v2n1p119      URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v2n1p119 

 

Abstract 

School principals commonly face a range of decision making that require creative or novel thinking, and 

these innovative thought processes align with a strong entrepreneurial mindset. We considered 

entrepreneurial mindset on a spectrum ranging from weak to strong as we empirically documented the 

entrepreneurial mindset of K-12 school principals. Using a survey, we gathered a combination of 

qualitative and quantitative data from 374 K-12 principals working in the south-central United States. 

We found those principals held a modest entrepreneurial mindset, and the mindset was predicted by age, 

the number of memberships to professional organizations, size of the school, and the academic 

performance of the school. Our findings have implications for K-12 principal preparation and practice. 

Keywords 

principal leadership, entrepreneurial mindset, mindset spectrum, innovative problem-solving, 

educational system restructuring 

 

1. Introduction 

The work of principals as the recognized leader in schools requires creative problem solving and 

innovation to establish a culture that is progressive, inclusive, and equitable. We argue the leadership 

disposition necessary to engage in creative problem solving and innovation is aligned with attributes that 

in aggregate contribute to a strong entrepreneurial mindset. We will provide more details of the 

entrepreneurial mindset in our review of literature, but briefly, we define the construct as approaching 

tasks with distinct consideration of entrepreneurial elements such as calculated risk taking, acceptance of 

ambiguity, and several other mental framings. Thus, the level of a principal’s entrepreneurial mindset is 

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likely to be predictive of their capacity to be effective change agents and transformative leaders. Our 

combined experience of more than 40 years in K-12 education, work with principals both as teachers and 

administrators, and our current work preparing principals led us to wonder how much do principals 

approach their leadership role as entrepreneurs. 

In our search of the literature, we were unable to locate any empirical studies that comprehensively 

documents K-12 school principals’ entrepreneurial mindset. Thus, there is a gap in the literature. Further, 

the importance of holding a strong entrepreneurial mindset to be an effective change agent and leader 

provides the need to document the level of the mindset held by K-12 school principals. To address the 

gap in the literature and inform the field, we gathered a combination of quantitative and qualitative 

survey data to assess the entrepreneurial mindset of K-12 school principals to answer our research 

question: to what extent do K-12 school principals embrace an entrepreneurial mindset in their leadership 

and what elements of an entrepreneurial mindset do they apply in their practice? Thus, the purpose of our 

research was to document the entrepreneurial mindset of principals and how these leaders engage in 

entrepreneurial thinking in their practice. 

 

2. Review of Literature 

2.1 Role of a K-12 School Principal  

Over a century ago, the pioneer of educational administration research Cubberley observed, “As is the 

principal, so is the school” (1916, p. 15), which reflects an early recognition for the importance and 

power of quality school leadership. However, as our society and norms have shifted over the last 100 

years, so has the role of the school principal. No longer is it enough to maintain and manage facilities, 

budgets, attendance, discipline, etc. As 21st-century educators and policymakers contemplate how to 

accomplish essential and systemic changes to our educational institutions, the counterproductive barriers 

established in the economic, educational, and cultural thoughts of the early 20th century remain (Willms 

et al., 2009). To navigate their role principals must have an array of skills and traits that include being a 

leader and motivator, conveyor of a vision, resilient, passionate, flexible, risk-taker, and life-long learner 

(Gurr, Drysdale, & Mulford, 2006; Sanzo, Sherman, & Clayton, 2011).  

According to Robinson (2010), student learning is directly influenced by the actions of the principal. We 

argue student success is substantially dependent on the principal’s ability to develop the capacity of the 

school to meet the academic, physical, social, and emotional needs of all its students and teachers (Brown 

& Wynn, 2007; Louis et al., 2010; Turan & Bektas, 2013). Further, the greater the challenges facing the 

students outside the school (e.g., low income, remote location, marginalized communities) requires 

principals to be highly innovative to create productive learning environments (Grissom, 2011).  

Principals act as the visionary and role models for teachers and students (Mitchell & Sackney, 2006). In 

taking action to achieve a vision for their schools, principals are role models and though leaders for 

considering possibilities, taking action, and being innovative (Moolenaar, Daly, & Sleegers, 2010). It is 

particularly important for principals to engage in entrepreneurial thinking and leading when supporting 
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change particularly in the adoption of innovation. For example, advances in technology and new learning 

applications have shifted learning and the interplay of knowledge, curriculum, teaching, and learning 

(Barth, 2001) which may be met with resistance. Principal leadership is critical for navigating the 

resistance and promoting adoption. Thus, we will use the context of technology integration for teaching 

and learning and the associated instructional innovations as a context for exploring how principals apply 

different facets of entrepreneurial thinking to lead others toward change. 

Principals’ leadership is critical for the integration of technology and the associated shift in instructional 

approaches required for sustained progressive teaching and learning. Principals leading the shift to 

innovative uses of technology for instruction must be able to share their vision, engage in innovative 

thinking, accept risk-taking, be creative, and have tolerance for ambiguity (Gonzales, 2019; Kozloski, 

2006; McLeod, Bathon, & Richardson, 2011). Through the process of being instructional leaders, 

principals must also recognize that not all students have the same level of access to technology, creating 

situations of inequity (Mason & Dodds, 2005). Thus, as principals advocate for creative uses of 

technology for teaching and learning, they also must consider convey the moral and ethical responsibility 

to ensure access for all students (Garland, 2009). We argue that principals who hold a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset are more likely to provide the vision, role modeling, innovation, and 

problem-solving associated with the complexity of adopting education innovations (Gonzales, 2019) 

such as the integration of technology and equitable access (Ayub & Othman, 2013). Additionally, 

principals who hold an entrepreneurial mindset are also more likely to be better positioned to lead the 

creation and support for school cultures that foster teachers’ beliefs that all students can grow, learn, and 

succeed (Dweck, 2007; Farrington et al., 2012). 

The importance of principal leadership for student success, school culture, solving problems, and 

promoting innovations justifies researching the thought patterns of principals. Particularly of interest to 

us is the level to which principals think like entrepreneurs in their roles as school leaders. Holding and 

expressing entrepreneurial traits and thoughts is of critical importance for solving complex problems 

beyond those of innovation instruction. Entrepreneurial thinking is critical for effectively leading in 

complex situations such as orchestrating school building closures and implementing virtual teaching and 

learning necessitated by unanticipated crises such as the COVID 19 outbreak. 

2.2 Entrepreneurial Mindset 

We define mindset as the way people interpret and approach situations based on their knowledge, 

experiences, the situation, worldview, and goals. Mindsets should be considered on a spectrum (French II, 

2016). Where one falls on a mindset spectrum is likely to be developmental (Paxton & Van Stralen, 2015) 

and may shift with context (Mehta et al., 2010). The people we interact with, the location we are in, our 

personal experience, and the nature of the interactions may influence the mindset that we hold and 

express (Haager et al., 2014). Both state and traits of individuals determine a mindset, and therefore, 

individuals may experience shifts in a mindset due to changes in context and/or the perspective of the 

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individual. We also maintain that rather than lacking a mindset people hold a weak mindset, sharing 

thoughts and perspectives that are essentially opposite of those holding a strong mindset.  

We define an entrepreneurial mindset as the level to which an individual engages in entrepreneurial 

thinking. Entrepreneurial thinking is an amalgamation of multiple perspectives and perceptions. 

Typically, researchers only examine a single perception or perspective of entrepreneurial thinking to 

provide a fine gain assessment of the construct (Brockhaus & Horwitz, 1986; Davis, Hall, & Mayer, 2016; 

Haynie et al., 2010; McGrath & MacMillan, 2000). Our goal was to create a comprehensive model of an 

entrepreneurial mindset that includes accepting of ambiguity (Rigotti, Ryan, & Vaithianathan, 2008), 

tolerating failure (Ucbasaran, Shepherd, Lockett, & Lyon, 2013), engaging in calculated risk-taking 

(Vereshchagina & Hopenhayn, 2009), expressing creativity (Okpara, 2007), connecting people and ideas 

(Earl, 2003), seeking new opportunities (Eckhardt & Shane, 2003), and other elements of entrepreneurial 

thinking. Thus, we constructed our model (see Figure 1) by combining elements from research in which 

a reductionist approach was applied to focus on a specific aspect of entrepreneurial thinking. In addition, 

as we developed our framework, we took into consideration our prior work in which we attempted to 

create a comprehensive definition for entrepreneurial thinking (Nadelson et al., 2018). Although an 

entrepreneurial mindset is commonly associated with business ventures (e.g., Shepherd, Patzelt, & 

Haynie, 2010), the mindset could also be associated with other conditions or roles (e.g., Pollard & Wilson, 

2014). Thus, an entrepreneurial mindset may be applied to a wide range of conditions, and that may not 

include business ventures such as how principals approach their school leadership roles. Thus, we 

contextualized our framework for the leadership role of principals. 

For our research, we were interested in how principals engaged in their leadership roles using an 

entrepreneurial mindset. We wanted to determine if K-12 school principals have acceptance of ambiguity, 

tolerance for failure, do they display motivation to connect and support others, do they embrace 

calculated risk-taking, and do they seek opportunities as fundamental practices in their leadership. In our 

search of the literature, we found reports of principals applying elements of the mindset such as creativity 

(Ediger, 2001) however, we could not locate any studies examining principals applying a comprehensive 

entrepreneurial mindset in their leadership roles. Given the advantages of applying the entrepreneurial 

mindset attributes to problem-solving and creating new opportunities, there is a warrant for our research. 

We developed the entrepreneurial leader mindset spectrum (see Figure 1) to reflect the different potential 

array of perspectives that leaders may hold regarding their approach to leadership. At the weak mindset 

end of the spectrum, the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of the leader would be reflective of a 

leadership style that does not embrace entrepreneurial thinking. Such a leader would approach problems 

or situations with trepidation, apprehension, or with thoughts of mitigation or avoidance. The goal of a 

leader with a weak entrepreneurial mindset is to maintain the status quo and distance him/herself from 

conditions or situations that are threats to consistency. 

In contrast, a leader aligned with the strong end of the spectrum would hold thoughts, feelings, and 

perceptions consistent with entrepreneurial thinking. Such a leader would approach problems and 
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situations with motivation, perceptions of opportunities, and the consideration of navigating the 

conditions as learning experiences. A leader with a strong entrepreneurial mindset would think about 

change, progress, and experimenting with new approaches and structures. Thus, the determination of the 

strength of an entrepreneurial mindset should not be considered in terms of a checklist of expression of 

each of the attributes listed in our model, but rather how any of the attributes are being conveyed in 

situations of uncertainty, distress, or controversy.  

 

 
Figure 1. The Entrepreneurial Leader Mindset Spectrum 

 

2.3 Application of the Entrepreneurial Mindset in the Principalship  

The complexity of society and desire for equity and inclusion continues to evolve, which is reflected in 

the challenging situations experienced in many K-12 schools. For example, schools may have challenges 

associated with low socioeconomic status, cultural diversity, constrained resources, and retention of high 

performing teachers while trying to meet expectations of student academic achievement (Grissom, 2011). 

We argue the challenges found in many K-12 schools require the school leadership -principals- to be 

creative and innovative thinkers to develop viable solutions to complex ill-formed problems associated 

with the challenges they face. 

We maintain that principals who exhibit and practice characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset are 

uniquely qualified to lead the community, school, staff, and students associated with under-performing 

schools toward higher achievement and well-being. Educators have been slow to adopt new instructional 

practices that deviate from compliance-based, didactic, and explicit instruction, perpetuating traditions 

that may be highly detrimental to English language learners, students of low SES, and students of color 

(Darling-Hammond, 2001; Oakes, 2005). Principals with strong entrepreneurial mindsets would lead 

faculty and staff to identify, explore, and implement creative and innovative ways of teaching that can 
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result in instructional approaches that are highly beneficial to students who have been unsuccessful with 

traditional approaches to teaching and learning. For example, Riester, Pursch, and Skrla (2002) reported 

principals who lead with transformational and/or social justice orientations tend to think creatively, 

assume a tremendous amount of responsibility for catalyzing change, and are persistent in supporting the 

change when faced with barriers or challenges. We maintain the mindsets of principals seeking 

conditions of transformation and social justice are aligned with a strong entrepreneurial mindset. 

A review of empirical educational research over the past thirty years verifies that the current 

compliance-based, factory model of schooling used by the vast majority of American schools no longer 

adequately meets the needs of young people in our contemporary society (Kohn, 2008; Rotherham & 

Willingham, 2009; Tyack & Cuban, 1995) indicating a need for change. Further, challenges such as 

school closures due to a pandemic, competition with private and charter schools for resources, 

perceptions of school effectiveness, and student need for quality education to prepare them for a highly 

competitive society requires K-12 principals to take risks, tolerate ambiguity, embrace a growth mindset, 

and connect people and ideas, which are some of the actions associated with a strong entrepreneurial 

mindset. 

When principals demonstrate a strong entrepreneurial mindset, they push for change and promote new 

ways of thinking about achievement and underachievement; shifting the conversation from deficit model 

thinking to opportunity, asset, and growth model thinking (Riester et al., 2002). Such leaders change the 

conversation from what is wrong with our students based on poor achievement outcomes, to a discussion 

about possibilities and opportunities that can lead to the transformation of educational practices. For 

example, a principal would be instrumental in transforming the instructional practices of teachers from 

being teacher centered to learner centered, a transformation process that requires innovative leadership 

for vision and support. The entrepreneurial mindset principal realizes that successful missions in pursuit 

of the institutional vision can best be attained through initiatives aimed at improving or changing system 

processes (Cox, 2006; Senge, 2006).  

Through collaborative, distributive, and servant leadership, principals can catalyze teachers’ focus on 

affording students with opportunities to make connections, think analytically, solve problems, and 

perhaps even make contributions of new understandings within a body of knowledge (Barth, 2001). 

Currently, marginalized and underserved populations are often provided with fewer rigorous, 

challenging, and relevant instructional experiences than the more mainstream peers (Hammond, 2015; 

Oakes, 2005). We embrace the notion that it is fundamental for principals to possess a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset to lead instructional decisions that elevate educators’ goals beyond traditional 

education activities that are needed to engage students in higher-order thinking (Conley, 2011; Kohn, 

2008; Yair, 2000). 

Given the potential for principals leading with a strong entrepreneurial mindset to be effective leaders 

and change agents who can positively influence school performance, we argue there is justification for 

documenting the entrepreneurial mindset of K-12 principals. Understanding the level of entrepreneurial 
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thinking of principals is likely to be critical to the preparation and ongoing professional development of 

K-12 principals. 

2.4 Principals’ Actions Based on Their Entrepreneurial Mindset 

We maintain principals’ actions are a reflection of their entrepreneurial mindset. In Figure 2, we provide 

examples of the actions associated with weak and strong entrepreneurial mindsets. The examples of the 

actions are common to school leadership and is a subset of the large array of possible and probable 

actions. Thus, the actions listed in Figure 2 do not necessarily directly align with the attributes of the 

mindset spectrum (see Figure 1) as some actions are likely to involve more than one mindset attribute. 

We also maintain that the example actions we included in Figure 2 can be evaluated in terms of 

entrepreneurial thinking and thus, the strength of the principal’s entrepreneurial mindset. 

We posit that many times a principal’s mindset may shift due to context or their level of experience and, 

therefore, will likely take actions that indicate a varied level of entrepreneurial mindset thinking. 

However, in general, it is the actions of the principals that influence others and their effectiveness. If 

principals approach situations with a strong entrepreneurial mindset, they may be more effective due to 

positive actions that principals holding a weak entrepreneurial mindset are likely to fail to enact.  

For example, a principal who leads using a weak entrepreneurial mindset may approach a problem by 

seeking to maintain a traditional solution and maintaining the status quo. In contrast, a principal who 

leads with a strong entrepreneurial mindset may approach the same problem by seeking innovative 

solutions and using the condition to create opportunities to provide transformational experiences for 

others. Further, a principal with a weak entrepreneurial mindset would seek consistency, frame 

conditions in terms of deficits, and recognize barriers as justification for inaction. In contrast, a principal 

with a strong entrepreneurial mindset would tolerate ambiguity (e.g., acceptance of the potential for an 

array of possible outcomes associated with risk taking) and try new approaches, frame conditions in 

terms of learning from failure, and perceive barriers as opportunities. How the principals approach the 

problem is reflective of the level to which the principals embrace the entrepreneurial mindset attributes of 

passion for innovation and connecting people with ideas. Given the connection a principal’s 

entrepreneurial mindset and their actions in the role, there is value in looking at how principals resolve 

issues or challenges as a proxy for the strength of their entrepreneurial mindset. 

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Figure 2. Principals’ Actions Based on Their Entrepreneurial Mindset 

 

3. Method 

3.1 Research Question 

The goal of our mixed methods cross-sectional survey research was to document the extent to which 

K-12 school principals embrace an entrepreneurial mindset in their leadership and what elements of an 

entrepreneurial mindset they apply in their practice. To achieve this goal, we developed the following 

guiding research questions: 

● What attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset do principals convey in general 

questions about their leadership and role? 

● What attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset do principals not convey in general 

questions about their leadership? 

● What personal and professional variables (i.e., age, years of experience) predict 

principals’ entrepreneurial mindset? 

3.2 Participants  

Using a publicly available roster of public school principals we distributed an email invitation to 8242 

potential participants. WE had 492 emails bounced, 467 surveys started and had 381 participants link to 

our survey, but only 349 completed at least 90% of the survey, which is the size of our data set. The 

average age of the 349 participants was 49.13 years (SD = 8.25), and they had worked as a principal for 

an average of 7.97 years (SD = 6.11). Of the participants, 58% identified as male, and 42% identified as 

female. The majority of the participants were White (71%), followed by 18% Hispanic, 10% Black, and 

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1% Asian or Native American. The distribution of the location of the schools the participants worked in 

was 47% rural, 34% suburban, and 19% urban.  

3.3 Principal’s Survey of Entrepreneurial Mindset Components 

Due to the novel focus of our research, we needed to develop a survey instrument to gather the data 

needed to answer our research questions. Using an existing framework for a comprehensive 

entrepreneurial mindset (Nadelson et al., 2018), we considered the application of the mindset elements in 

the context of the work of principals. We then generated a bank of items aligned with various 

entrepreneurial mindset elements. For example, in alignment with the mindset of tolerance for failure we 

created items such as “I am willing to take risks for high rewards even if there is a high potential for 

failure” and negatively stated items such as “When I fail on a project I tend to move on and forget about 

the project.”  

We generated over 40 items and then reviewed the bank of items for redundancies, complex stems, and 

lack of alignment with the work of principals. After our review, we retained 25 items. To validate the 

items, we asked several professionals who prepare principals to review the items and consider the items 

in the context of the work of principals. Based on the feedback from the professionals, we made minor 

adjustments to the language of the items. The 25 items are responded to on a five-point Likert scale 

ranging from strongly disagree (a value of 1) to strongly agree (a value of 5). Given we consider an 

entrepreneurial mindset as a whole, the survey did not include any subscales. 

We also included three open-response items in our survey to gather qualitative data to document the 

entrepreneurial mindset of the principals. Thus, we included the following prompts to solicit the 

participants to respond: “In a sentence or 2 share why you became a principal” and “What is the most 

challenging part of your job” and “what is the primary goal as a principal.” The participants were 

provided unlimited space for their responses. The goal of the open-response items was to elicit responses 

that would reflect an entrepreneurial mindset that is expressed naturally without explicit prompts. 

In addition to the open and selected-response items, we included several demographic items such as age, 

experience, gender, ethnicity, and information about their schools. We used demographic data to 

determine if there were differences based on personal and professional variables. 

We calculated the reliability of our instrument to have a Cronbach’s alpha of .71, which indicates an 

acceptable level of internal consistency. 

3.4 Data Collection 

Using a cross sectional methodology, we distributed a survey to principals to determine their current 

leadership thoughts and practices. Our data collection took place online using a web-based survey site. 

We obtained the email addresses of school principals in a region of the south-central United States from 

a publicly accessible database. We sent an email invitation to over 8000 principals. We collected data for 

two weeks. At the close of our data collection, we had 467 started surveys and 381 finished surveys. 

Through data conditioning we eliminated the responses of any participant who had not completed at least 

90% of the selected response items resulting in a dataset with the responses from 349 participants. 
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3.5 Analysis 

3.5.1 Quantitative 

To prepare the quantitative data for analysis, we conditioned the data by replacing the missing values 

with the series mean function in SPSS and reverse coded the responses to the negatively stated items. We 

then calculated the descriptive statistics for the individual items and composite score to assess the levels 

of entrepreneurial mindset. We analyzed the responses to the individual items and composite scores 

using personal and professional variables as factors or independent variables. 

3.5.2 Qualitative 

We used a content analysis methodology for analyzing our qualitative data. We prepared to analyze the 

qualitative data by reviewing the attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset and the associated descriptions 

of the attributes. In Table 1, we present the attributes we used as codes and the corresponding 

descriptions we used to focus our analysis.  

We began coding the data together, discussing each response, and how the data aligned with the different 

attributes. After our collective coding, we coded 20 items independently and then compared and 

discussed our coding. Once we established 80% interrater reliability, we then coded the data individually. 

We found we had achieved consistency in responses, saturating our coding after 100 responses. To 

confirm our perception of saturation we coded an additional 25 responses in our data set and found 

consistency was maintained. 

 

Table 1. Entrepreneurial Mindset Attributes Codes and Associated Descriptors 

Attribute Code Descriptors 

Tolerance for Ambiguity Okay with not knowing what might happen, open to letting others take the lead, leads 

regardless of the level of predictable outcomes 

Perceives Failure as 

Learning 

growth mindset, no consequences for failure 

Creativity Thinks of new approaches, systems thinker 

Connecting People and 

Ideas 

Leverages peoples’ capacity to implement new projects, success is collectively achieved 

Risk-taking Try new methods, high risk - high return  

Innovation Implement new approaches  

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Leadership Transformational leadership approach, create opportunities for others to develop, 

collaborative/distributive leadership 

Visionary Future thinking, developing solutions, has goals based on what the leader envisions the 

organization should be 

Curious Life-long learning, seeks information 

Motivated to Take Action Motivated, persistence 

Being Involved Engaged, collaborative, community-minded, increase the growth of others 

Alternatives to Status-quo Disruptive, need for change, improvement 

Feedback from Others Seeks to know what others think, organization/goals come first, accepting of criticism by 

others 

Passion (Emergent) A deep emotional engagement to the situation, affective, personalize and owning the 

situation 

No mindset attribute 

reported 

 

 

4. Results 

4.1 Entrepreneurial Mindset Attributes Conveyed 

Our first guiding research questions asked: What attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset do principals 

convey in general questions about their leadership and role? To answer this question, we coded responses 

to our items asking the participants to share why they became a principal and their primary goal as a 

principal. We chose the two items due to the expected positive responses that convey the enactment of 

the attributes. Following coding, we determined the percentage of responses corresponding to each 

entrepreneurial mindset attribute to assess the relative frequency of the expression of the attributes. 

Our analysis revealed the participants most frequently conveyed the entrepreneurial mindset attributes of 

a desire to be involved, engaging in leadership, motivation to take action, and being visionary (see 

Figures 3). At a more moderate rate, the participants’ responses reflected the entrepreneurial attributes of 

seeking alternatives to the status quo, connecting people and ideas, and innovation. Less than 10% of the 

participants communicated the remaining entrepreneurial mindset attributes in their responses. Our 

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results suggest that the principals tend to express some attributes of an entrepreneurial mindset but rarely 

consider others, which may indicate a fragmented mindset.  

 

 
Figure 3. Relative Frequency of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Attributes Conveyed in Sharing the 

Primary Goals as a Principal and Motivation to Become a Principal 

 

In Table 2, we present participants’ responses to the two free-response items representative of the coded 

entrepreneurial mindset attributes. Our results indicate that the participants tended to convey a limited 

scope of entrepreneurial thinking when explaining their professional goals and motivation for becoming 

a principal. Our results suggest that the principals do not think in ways aligned with a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset and, therefore, may tend to hold and think using a weak to moderate 

entrepreneurial mindset. 

 

 

 

 

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Table 2. Attributes and Representative Responses from the Participants Conveying a Strong 

Entrepreneurial Mindset 

Attribute Representative Responses 

Tolerance for Ambiguity “...I also want to provide freedom for my risk-takers who want to try new things in their 

classroom.”  

Perceives Failure as 

Learning 

“Coach and develop teachers to never stop learning and to try new things to increase student 

achievement. Protect them from outside distractions and influences to stay focused on our 

priorities as a campus.” 

Creativity “To remove obstacles that stand in the way of teacher success with students.” 

Connecting People and 

Ideas 

“To help all our students have choices and open doors when it comes to what they’ll do post 

high school. Students only have the prerequisites we prepare them with and those pre reqs can 

broaden or limit options post high school.”  

Risk-taking “I wanted to effect change at an institutional level, and influence the education of students 

positively on a broader scale than I could reach in the classroom.” 

Innovation “To create a stimulating and engaging learning environment that promotes curiosity and 

improves self-esteem.” 

Leadership “I have the ability to lead others and build capacity--being a principal has given me the 

opportunity to positively impact more students than I ever could as a classroom teacher.” 

“I became a principal because I enjoy helping teachers understand the needs of students with 

challenging behaviors (academic or social-emotional).” 

Visionary “To change the world through education.” 

“I am a strong believer in education and making a difference for our future.”  

Curious NO RESPONSE FOUND 

Motivated to Take Action “I wanted to lead teachers and students in a way that would bring value to public education 

and their lives.” 

“Attitude reflects leadership - change the culture of school.” 

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Being Involved “To serve the teachers and students to help them reach their maximum potential. I want our 

schools, not just mine, to be a staple in community pride.” 

Alternatives to Status quo “To get the school off of the IR list.” 

“Organizational change from the inside - out.” 

Feedback from others “I became a principal because I like being able to have an impact on an entire organization by 

leading, listening, and learning.” 

Passion “I love seeing kids grow. I believe it is the most rewarding job.” 

“I love kids and teachers! I love being able to make a positive impact!”  

No Mindset Attribute 

Identified 

“It was a natural step in career advancement. My grandmother was a principal in this district, 

so people expected me to follow that path.” 

“I was appointed to turn around this campus.” 

“Student safety & support.”  

 

4.2 Entrepreneurial Mindset Attributes Not Conveyed 

Our second guiding research questions asked: What attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset do 

principals not convey in general questions about their leadership? To answer this question, we coded one 

free-response item for attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset that would enable the principals to solve 

the challenges they face in their role. We choose the item due to the expected negative responses that 

convey a lack of enactment of entrepreneurial mindset attributes and, therefore, the thoughts and actions 

of approaching problems as opportunities for change. 

Our coding revealed almost all the participants tended not to approach their challenges with a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset. In Table 3, we provide the attributes of a strong entrepreneurial mindset along 

with a representative response in which we perceive the challenge could be resolved by applying the 

mindset attribute. For example, the response “Not having consistent systems from district leadership” 

could be resolved through the mindset attribute “Tolerance for Ambiguity” which suggests the 

participant does not engage in the challenge with the entrepreneurial mindset attribute reflecting the 

potential for a weak mindset. With few exceptions, the challenges that the participants shared they faced 

were not framed in terms of problem-solving using the thoughts and actions that define an 

entrepreneurial mindset. An exception is a participant who shared, “It’s all challenging but I don’t look at 

it that way because I love what I do and I possess a growth mindset” which reflects a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset. 

 

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Table 3. Attributes and Representative Responses Not Conveying a Strong Entrepreneurial 

Mindset 

Attribute Representative Responses  

Tolerance for Ambiguity “Not having consistent systems from district leadership.” 

Perceives Failure as Learning “To be an instructional leader for my teachers because there are constant 

interruptions of my day, starting at a clogged toilet to a child having a 

meltdown.” 

“The baggage that students bring to school and knowing that sometimes I 

can’t do anything to relieve that pressure because their life influences outside 

of school are too great.” 

Creativity “Not enough time, staffing, and money” 

Connecting People and Ideas “...having to share information/mandates from the district level that I know 

are overwhelming for teachers.” 

Risk-taking “...getting the staff to trust me and to buy into our mission and vision. I took 

over my current campus mid-year, replacing a principal who had been the 

campus leader for over 15 years.”  

“After 12 months as the new principal, we have made significant physical 

changes to the campus and streamlined our processes and procedures. Buy-in 

from the district, parents, and students has been easy; however, buy-in from 

some staff members, mostly the tenured teachers, continues to be 

challenging.” 

Innovation “Balance is the most challenging part of the job. How to balance between the 

bureaucratic things that must be done and moving forward in the work of 

being a learning organization.” 

“Getting paperwork completed. Writing up formal observations; I would 

rather have conversations.” 

Leadership “Ensuring everyone is working toward the same goal.”  

“Working with a large number of people.” 

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Visionary “It is difficult to balance being supportive of the teachers as professionals 

when their core beliefs are not aligned with mine.” 

“Working with adults who believe the school exists for them and not the 

students. I also struggle with individuals who do not look at students as 

individuals and are not willing to try new strategies in the classroom.”  

Curious “Leaving work at work and not taking it home with me.”  

Motivated to take Action “Keeping teachers focused during those months that can be tiring.” 

Being Involved “Not feeling effective with students and teachers who are struggling.” 

Alternatives to Status-quo “Personnel is the most challenging part of my job because I am dealing with 

adults who are often set in their ways.” 

“Parental conceptions about school effectiveness and their role in that 

process.” 

Feedback from others “Dealing with parents who do not value education.” 

Passion “Leaving work at work and not taking it home with me.”  

No Mindset Attribute Identifiable 

 

“Cash flow” 

“Politics” 

“Staffing” 

“Adult Interactions”  

 

In Figure 4, we present the percent of the participants who conveyed challenges that could potentially be 

resolved by applying one or more attributes of a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Using the perspective of 

a strong entrepreneurial mindset, we found the principals most frequently conveyed challenges that 

might be resolved by applying the attributes of leadership, connecting people and ideas, getting involved, 

and innovation. At a moderate level of frequency, the challenges could be resolved if the principals 

applied the strong entrepreneurial mindset attributes of risk-taking, perceives failure as learning, 

creativity, seeking alternatives to the status quo, and tolerance for ambiguity. At a low frequency, the 

participants shared challenges that could be resolved through the application of the strong entrepreneurial 

attributes of being visionary, motivation to take action, seeking feedback from others, passion, and being 

curious. Thus, we found the challenges that principals convey are more likely to be resolved with a subset 

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of the strong entrepreneurial mindset attributes. It is important to note that we are not classifying the 

specific level on the spectrum of the mindset, but rather considering the narratives as being reflective of 

potential attributes associated with the mindset. 

 

 
Figure 4. Frequency of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Attributes Not Expressed that Could Be 

Applied to Solve the Challenge 

 

4.3 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Personal and Professional Variables 

Our last guiding research question stated: what personal and professional variables (i.e., age, years of 

experience) predict principals’ entrepreneurial mindset? To answer this question, we first calculated a 

composite variable from the answers to our selected-response items associated with the expression of the 

attributes of a strong entrepreneurial mindset. The mean for the composite score for the attributes was 

3.65 (SD = .33). Interpreting the mean for attribute expression on the entrepreneurial mindset spectrum 

(see Figure 1) would indicate that the principals as a group have a modest expression of the mindset 

attributes which we equate to a modest entrepreneurial mindset. The modest entrepreneurial mindset is 

consistent with the findings from the analysis of qualitative data, which indicated fragmented mindset 

attribute expression. 
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With the composite score for mindset level under consideration, we proceeded with our analysis by 

conducting a series of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis including correlation, t-test, and 

ANOVA using the composite score for entrepreneurial mindset as the dependent variable and different 

personal and professional variables as predictors. 

We began by conducting a series of correlation calculations to determine the relationships among the 

continuous variables including age, years of K-12 experience, years as a principal, years in current school, 

and the number of memberships to professional organizations. We found significant positive correlations 

between our composite variable for entrepreneurial mindset and age (r = .12, p = .035) and with the 

number of memberships to professional organizations (r = .18, p < .01). Our results indicate that as age 

increases or membership to professional organizations increases so does the level of an entrepreneurial 

mindset. There were no significant corrections with the other variables. We did not find age to be 

significantly correlated with the number of professional organizations. 

We continued our analysis with an exploration of potential relationships of the composite for 

entrepreneurial mindset with our categorical variables such as gender, ethnicity, location of the school, 

type of school, percent of the students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, school performance, and 

school level. An ANOVA revealed a difference in the level of strong entrepreneurial mindset by the 

number of students in the school (F(5,342) = 2.914, p = .014), with the Tukey post hoc analysis revealing 

principals in schools with more than 1000 students having significantly higher mindset score (M (30) = 

3.79, SD = .32) than principals working in schools with 200-400 students (M(97) = 3.59, SD = .30). Our 

analysis revealed a significant difference in the levels of a strong entrepreneurial mindset by the 

performance of the school based on state rankings in which the principals’ worked (F(4,330) = 3.40, p 

= .01) with post hoc analysis revealing a significant pairwise difference with principals in B schools 

(M(134) = 3.70, SD = .33) being significantly higher than principals in C schools (M(79) = 3.57, SD 

= .33). We found no relationship between entrepreneurial mindset and gender, ethnicity, location of the 

school, level of the school, percent first-year teachers, and SES of the students. 

 

5. Discussion and Implications 

The goal of our research was to document the entrepreneurial mindset of K-12 principals and to 

determine the predictors of their mindset. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data afforded 

us the opportunity to document the mindset using two different methods. The result of both the 

quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed the principals held a modest entrepreneurial mindset. 

5.1 Conveying Entrepreneurial Thinking 

Our analysis of the responses to why the participants became principals and their primary goal as 

principals revealed fragments of entrepreneurial thinking. The fragments of entrepreneurial thinking 

were aligned with the general expectations of leadership, such as being involved, taking action, and 

leadership. A few exceptions were the high level of visionary thinking and connecting people and ideas. 

However, the responses did not reflect about half of the attributes of an entrepreneurial mindset. We 
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suspect that principals are not prepared to think using a strong entrepreneurial mindset, focused instead 

on the traditional role of leadership as that of authority. Further, we posit the general school culture has 

traditionally been about maintaining the status quo rather than innovative thinking, developing new 

approaches, and other activities that require entrepreneurial thinking, and thus a strong entrepreneurial 

mindset.  

One implication for our finding is the modest entrepreneurial mindset that many principals hold will limit 

their ability to restructure schools and create new organizational structures and support new approaches 

to teaching and learning. A second implication is a limited perspective for problem-solving by principals 

due to limited scope of thinking in relation to their leadership positions. To resolve the issue of principals 

holding a modest entrepreneurial mindset may require shifts in principal preparation program curriculum 

and focused professional development. Our future research will focus on how much the curriculum of 

principal preparation programs is aligned with strong entrepreneurial mindset development. 

5.2 Not Applying Entrepreneurial Thinking 

When asked about the challenges faced in their role as a principal, the participants indicated a range of 

deficit thinking in which a strong entrepreneurial mindset could allow the principals to resolve the 

challenge. We found a few exceptions in which a participant recognized their role has challenges but 

approach the situations with a growth-mindset and innovation, reflecting a strong entrepreneurial 

mindset. Again, as a whole, the responses indicate a constrained entrepreneurial mindset. We postulate 

the reason the principals tended not to approach the challenges they face with a strong entrepreneurial 

mindset is again due to lack of preparation to approach problems with a mindset of innovation and 

creativity. Further, we speculate that the culture of school leadership and some of the immediacy of the 

challenges in schools are not conducive to engaging in strong entrepreneurial thinking to develop 

solutions. Future research should focus on exploring in more depth what is influencing principals’ 

approaches to challenges and the lack of an application of a strong entrepreneurial mindset when 

considering the barriers they encounter in their leadership roles.  

5.3 Relation to Personal and Professional Variables 

Our quantitative data also reflected a modest entrepreneurial mindset, supporting our findings in the 

qualitative data. We also found the entrepreneurial mindset level was correlated with both age and the 

number of memberships to professional organizations. Our finding suggests that as people age, they may 

develop more of an entrepreneurial mindset, using their lived experience to inform how they approach 

leadership and other situations. We failed to find a relationship between years of experience as a principal 

and an entrepreneurial mindset, which suggests that an entrepreneurial mindset may be more trait 

dependent than state related. Thus, our results suggest that entrepreneurial thinking can transcend 

conditions or situations, and is influenced by time and a range of experiences beyond the principalship. 

However, our finding of an association between entrepreneurial mindset and the number of memberships 

to professional organizations suggest that age and experience may require focus or intention, such as 

engaging in knowledge seeking and lifelong learning, to influence the mindset development. 
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Our quantitative data also suggests that the level of a principal’s entrepreneurial mindset is related to the 

size of the school and school performance. We speculate it may be the conditions of the schools that 

attract principals who have mindsets aligned with the culture and expectations of the schools. If a school 

culture is conservative and resistant to change a principal may be met with substantial resistance to 

entrepreneurial thinking, due to adherence to tradition and status quo. Thus, schools with a conservative 

culture schools may be more likely to attract principals who hold a weak entrepreneurial mindset. 

However, schools with a culture of innovation and change may attract principals who hold a strong 

entrepreneurial mindset due to expectations of novel thinking and creativity. The implication for our 

finding is the expression of a strong entrepreneurial mindset may be more easily achieved in some 

schools than others; making the expression or suppression of the mindset contextual on school and 

community culture. Future research should delve deeper into the relationship between principals’ 

entrepreneurial mindset in relation to school culture and conditions. 

5.4 Implications for Principal Preparation Practice 

There is high potential for principals to encounter complex problems in their role such as dealing with a 

global pandemic, school shooting, student suicide, pervasive bias, or financial retrenchment. These 

complex problems require creative solutions, teamwork, risk-taking, persistence, acceptance of 

ambiguity, and tolerance for failure. Essentially, solving complex problems require principals to think 

like entrepreneurs. Some principals may develop entrepreneurial thinking by chance over time. However, 

if principals are prepared to think like entrepreneurs, they may develop an entrepreneurial mindset faster 

and be better prepared to apply entrepreneurial thinking to solve complex problems. Thus, we 

recommend the leaders of principal preparation programs examine their curriculum and instructional 

methodology and determine how they may integrate opportunities to foster their candidates’ 

entrepreneurial mindset, particularly in the context of solving complex problems. Further, by thinking 

like an entrepreneur, principals may be able to prevent or minimize potential problems before they 

become substantial and disruptive. We conjecture that when faculty of school leader preparation 

programs focus on authentic learning experiences they position aspiring leaders to more readily 

comprehend the relationship among vision and strategic actions, which can result in effective 

organizational initiatives. A related direction for research is how preparing principals with an 

entrepreneurial mindset influences how they approach solving complex problems as practitioners. 

 

6. Limitations 

The first limitation of our research is the participants were drawn from the same region of the United 

States. Although we found trends and consistency in our data, it may be possible that principals in other 

regions of the United States or from different cultures may convey divergent thinking. Examining the 

entrepreneurial mindset of principals in different regions and cultures will be needed to determine if our 

data is representative of the greater community or if our findings are regionally bound. 

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A second limitation of our research is the potential for bias in the sample. We distributed our survey to 

over 4000 principals but had data from only had 349 participants in our final dataset. Thus, the 

participants may not be representative of the greater population, and responded due to their interest in 

ideas of entrepreneurial thinking. Future research may need to do more targeted data collection from a 

sample of principals to ensure our results are representative of the broader community. 

A third limitation of our research is the nature of our data collection. We used an anonymous survey to 

gather data which did not allow us to follow-up with the participants to determine why they answered the 

way they did to some of our items. We did go through a process to validate our survey items, so we 

presume the participants’ interpretation of the context and content of our items was consistent with our 

expectations. However, future research may want to do interviews and observations of principals to 

determine if our findings are genuinely representative of the entrepreneurial thinking and actions of 

principals. 

 

7. Conclusion 

Principals can be more effective leaders if they lead using a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Our research 

is the first empirical study we are aware of to document the entrepreneurial mindset of principals. Our 

finding of principals holding a modest entrepreneurial mindset suggests a need for a shift in the 

preparation and ongoing professional development of principals. Additional research is needed to further 

understand the phenomenon and the ramifications of principals’ entrepreneurial mindset influence on 

their leadership. 

 

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	Original Paper

