The charismatic transformational leader, who creates a 'vision' for the future of their organization and persuades others to follow their path towards it, is now the dominant viewpoint that underpins government policies towards leadership development in the English-speaking world. This book offers a much-needed corrective to this orthodoxy by focusing on current research and thinking about leadership rather than leaders. A wide range of prominent international contributors present a rare self critical look at their own assertions and test alternative leadership models against recent research projects. They also demonstrate how their analysis is relevant to all countries where leadership is an issue. Major features include: ] alternative theories to understanding the nature of leadership] how leadership could be analyzed] re-analysis of recent research carried out by contributors in the light of one or more of the alternative theories examined] implications of the alternative perspectives for leadership trainingThis book is recommended to all staff and students involved in educational leadership, management or administration programmes.