Patrick Duignan has studied and practised leadership for over four decades. In the second edition of Educational Leadership he captures all this wisdom in one concise, powerful place. I know the field pretty well, and as I was reading I wondered from time to time whether Duignan would address this or that aspect of what is prominent in education leadership. Every time I thought of a dimension of leadership, it would be addressed seemingly in the next chapter. It is all there: moral purpose, macro challenges, micro challenges, tensions and dilemmas, individual and collective ethics, innovation and more.

Whether it is about being a leader or becoming a leader, Duignan gets to the bottom of what it means to foster and hone one's leadership. He not only addresses the key aspects of educational leadership, but he uncovers the deeper issues, and then helps the reader think it through with just the right amount of complexity. He doesn't spoonfeed the reader but he does sharply clarify each major aspect of leadership. He furnishes his own insights, but he also pushes the reader to grapple with the underlying issues. His reflective questions at the end of each chapter are a course in leadership itself.

I recently reviewed the broader literature in order to get insights into what it means to practise highly effective leadership, whatever sector one is in.