Book excerpt: This book features case studies of 11 successful New Zealand educational leaders. It is intended as a testimony to their exemplary work and to help aspiring, new and experienced practitioners understand more about their leadership role. The case studies capture the exhilaration of being a leader in different school and early childhood centre settings and they identify key values, attributes and strategies that have enabled these leaders to achieve and maintain success. The New Zealand research that this book draws on is carried out under the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) which aims to focus research attention on factors behind principals' success. The editor and writers explore two major research questions: What practices do successful leaders use? What factors give rise to successful educational leadership? Readers will draw inspiration from this sample of successful New Zealand principals and early childhood leaders who have dedicated their professional lives to making a difference for students. Diverse reflections, questions and suggestions for further reading are woven through each case study to encourage aspiring and current educational leaders to think critically about their own workplace practices.