With the increased demands on principals and a shortage of qualified, acceptable candidates, school districts that have to replace principals are in a difficult position. These factors, combined with the importance that the principal role has in relation to student achievement, make the identification of potential administrators and the hiring process for new administrators a top priority for all school districts. This study answered the following two major questions; a) what characteristics or talents, as identified by the StrengthsFinder profile, did Orange County Public School principals in 2007 look for in identifying potential school administrators and b) what differences, if any, exist within the existing variables (school level, certification, gender, and prior experiences). The Clifton StrengthsFinder Profile was utilized to identify the strengths or talents of a group of 61 teachers within Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) who were identified by their principals as potential school based administrators. Of those 61 participants in the Aspiring Leader Academy, the following five strengths were most commonly identified: a) Relator (45.9%), b) Achiever (37.8%), c) Responsibility (37.7%), d) Learner (36.1%) and e) Maximizer (25.9%). In comparing talents across demographic data, the talents identified for participants at all levels (elementary, middle, and high) were not statistically different, supporting the notion that talents principals looked for in identifying potential administrators were relatively the same at all three levels.

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