School boards and communities commonly face a challenge when choosing superintendents: should they select somebody from inside the community or from outside? The tacit knowledge (knowledge gained by experience) each superintendent brings to his or her district is unique and influences the beliefs of school boards in unique ways. This study examined superintendent leadership by mapping the tacit-knowledge domain of place-bound and career-bound superintendents. Forty-four Ohio public-school superintendents were interviewed and their responses coded for statistical analysis. Results show that a superintendent's choice to move to other districts or stay in the same one influences his or her tacit knowledge. Place-bound superintendents tend to have a stronger focus on group membership and group members; their priorities tend to revolve around developing long-term trust relationships with groups and individuals as a way to develop trust in the schools. Career-bound individuals tend to focus on school-system organization and on developing a shared perspective of the district's direction; their priorities tend to revolve around developing trust through a task-oriented focus on performance and perception of the organization. This study suggests that a tacit-knowledge framework may help to provide better understanding of superintendent actions and viewpoints. (Contains 35 references.) (RT)