Abstract
The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand how teachers and school leaders perceive the practice of leader humility in managing conflict within a K—12 public school district in New Mexico. The aim was to create an evidence-based solution for identifying how leader humility could be practiced in situations requiring conflict management in a K—12 public school setting. Using a grounded theory approach, the study examined the perceptions of 15 volunteer participants who identified as either teachers or school leaders. As defined by the current research study, teachers and school leaders practice humility every day through empowering students and staff to see their strengths and weaknesses through their constant pursuit of excellence in education. Through the practice of modeling positive reinforcement behaviors and embracing the imperfections of being a leader, the findings within the current research study demonstrated that leader humility was vital to conflict management. The findings also demonstrated a new theoretical framework and evidence-based recommendation for how to enhance leader humility in conflict management situations in a public K—12 school setting.|Keywords: leader humility, conflict management, public education