As educational enrollments, resources, and confidence decline, complexity, ambiguity, and dissatisfaction increase. This mixture of growth and decline creates an adverse environment for educational leaders. History shows, however, that adversity can have important uses and profound advantages. Leaders can use adversity to help define new and more desirable directions for educational institutions. The dissatisfaction created by adversity establishes a readiness for needed change. The necessities of retrenchment can produce greater efficiencies in present programs and operations. The demands of adversity can also encourage new forms of cooperation. This cooperation may include the pooling of a wide range of human and other resources and can help leaders address the complex demands of adversity more effectively. (Author/JM)