In this study, researchers investigated whether school leaders who were members of minority groups draw on specific skills in order to succeed in administrative positions. Interviews with five California school superintendents (three Hispanic and two African American) examined factors for success in their role as superintendent of an urban public school system. Of particular interest were factors within their experience that reach beyond the fundamentals taught in educational administration programs. Success for these administrators, particularly in school systems where the superintendent's role has traditionally been filled by white males, required that they draw on their skills to network aggressively across cultural and racial lines in the face of the remnants of historical oppression. (Contains 17 references.) (SLD)