Leadership engrosses multiple actors and unique contexts that unfold along different timescales. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on authentic leadership, principal leadership, and distributed leadership and examine the current trends due to the pandemic and the growth of information and communication technology in higher educational institutions (HEI). This qualitative study adopted a literature review and in-depth interviews of 10 educational faculty, 10 students, and 9 non-HEI organisational leaders in India, predominantly based on a semi-structured script. Our study used the approaches of purposive sampling and inductive analysis. Employing social cognitive theory, our study reports on participants' perceptions of existing leaders and discusses organisational behavioural attributes that need focus for leadership development. The hybrid multi-layered model of leadership styles is suggested as a practical approach in India. This study contributes to the educational leadership development literature by highlighting the expectations of students and non-HEI organisational leaders on the fundamental role of educational leaders and behavioural necessities.