This brief summarizes findings and implications from a study designed to help the the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) leadership development team better understand the experiences of their African American school site leaders. It sought to answer the research question: What are the factors that influence African American school leaders’ decisions about their career transitions? The study found that three types of social cognitive factors impacted African American leaders’ decisions about entering, staying in or leaving their administrative roles: 1) personal characteristics:, 2) administrator behavior; and 3) environmental conditions.