The significance of effective leadership and management for successful school and student outcomes is increasingly being recognised. This has led to consideration of the nature of preparation and development required to promote good leadership. There is now widespread acknowledgement of the need for specialised training for school principals. This paper examines the reasons for the growth of leadership development programmes, considers how and why provision varies across the globe, and examines many national examples of such programmes. The paper links leadership development to succession planning and contrasts centralised and decentralised approaches to both phenomena. It concludes by noting that the trend towards specific preparation is global but that approaches vary widely, in response to local contextual factors. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)