Demands continue for the reform of educational administration preparation programs. Attention typically focuses on the knowledge base, its foundation and relationship with the field. This article raises the pivotal issue of faculty learning through conversation and its role in the development of core purpose to frame the reconsideration of leadership. Insights gained from wide-ranging preparation reform efforts are used to talk about the nature of meaningful conversations and behaviors that lead to "learning to learn" together. Through conversation, existing assumptions, beliefs, and practices can be questioned to create new conceptions of the core purpose in leadership preparation programs.