This paper aims first to shed light on one element of leadership: the characteristics--or "competencies"--of turnaround leaders who succeed in driving rapid, dramatic change. Second, it recounts the elements of support that districts must provide these leaders to enable and sustain a portfolio of successful school turnarounds. Fortunately, decades of experience in other sectors and in education systems of other nations reveal tools and techniques for understanding and using turnaround leader competencies, and for governing turnaround leaders successfully. U.S. educators must act on this knowledge. Today, few districts have an explicit strategy to select and empower school turnaround leaders using the best available techniques. Few provide the autonomy, support, and accountability for rapid, dramatic change that will attract, keep, and enable turnarounds by capable leaders. Here the authors explain what states, districts, and others with an interest in school turnarounds need to know. They describe the role of leadership in organizational turnarounds and how using competencies can allow better selection, development, and support of these leaders. Appended are: (1) Identifying Distinguishing Competencies: Building a Valid Model; (2) Hiring Effective School Turnaround Principals; and (3) Developing School Turnaround Principals. (Contains 1 figure and 70 notes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the University of Virginia's Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education.]