Leadership is situational and cannot be predicted or necessarily taught. This book is the distillation of ideas and practices derived from interviews with some of education's top leaders. Chapter 1, "Forming Beliefs," makes the point that teachers and administrators must carefully learn about excellence and then find the elements of excellence that most attract them. Chapter 2, "Staff Development," goes to the heart of how a school renews itself. Chapter 3, "Broadening Leadership," argues that a program or method will fail as soon as primary/influential leaders leave the school, find themselves unable to withstand the inevitable criticism, or are unable to pique the interest of others in becoming involved. Chapter 4, "Situational Mastery," explains why there is no template for leadership and how to go about developing skills and fitting them to specific needs in an environment. Chapter 5, "Discrimination, Racism, and Poverty," looks at how the "have" and "have-not" gap adversely affects education and economic well-being. Chapter 6, "Four Final Questions," tries to answer a few common and important questions that arise about school leadership. Each chapter provides specific recommendations and examples germane to its topic. An appendix lists selected educational organizations and journals. (Contains 27 references.) (RT)