While leadership development is acknowledged as essential for institutional growth in the higher education sector, it remains poorly understood and under researched both empirically and theoretically. Although knowledge in this area is growing in western contexts, there is little published data from the Arabic speaking world. This article addresses this gap by reporting on a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funded research project which aimed to explore academic middle leaders' experiences of leadership and leadership development in Qatar. Drawing on semi structured interviews with 17 academic middle leaders, an integrated systems model for understanding leadership development in Qatar is proposed, based on three inter-related systems: intrapersonal, relational, and institutional. This model has clear implications for future leadership development policy and practice, which it is argued needs to acknowledge the nuanced and complex leadership behaviours and interactions that are required to run academic departments successfully.