Although the literature illustrates well how leadership can (and has been) theorised, it is much less common to read about the idiosyncratic demands on leaders that shed light on the emotional responses and their individual learnings derived of those experiences. This paper attempts to document aspects of leadership through a consideration of the needs, issues and concerns experienced at the personal level of the individual. The learnings documented in the paper are explored through a number of principles that could be seen as foundational to the processes and practices that inform the manner in which being a leader can be both interpreted and enacted through the lens of emotional leadership.