Women have made considerable gains in the acquisition of principal, vice-principal, and administrative positions within elementary and secondary educational institutions. Unfortunately, these gains have not translated into growth within the office of superintendency. Through incorporating a qualitative case study, the researcher ascertained the impact of mentoring on the ascension of women into leadership roles. The researcher also explored whether the level of emotional intelligence (EI) displayed by the mentor and protege contributed to positive mentoring outcomes and determined if the attributes and activities described by the participants were reflective of appreciative inquiry (AI) characteristics. The findings of this study concluded that mentoring relationships were used to "pour into" the development of other women and provide them with a voice. The data from this study also demonstrated the need for more same gender (woman-to-woman) mentoring opportunities, and the importance of the level of emotional intelligence (EI) possessed by the mentor and protege and how EI positively influenced the mentoring relationship. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]