Research suggests that many early childhood program administrators enter into leadership roles by being promoted from teaching positions and few have prior education, training, or experience specific to leadership or management (Catron & Groves, 1999; Billman, 1995; Bloom & Rafanello, 1994). Many directors of early care and education programs must navigate their own ongoing professional development and learn how to improve their leadership practice without assistance. Little attention has been given to differentiating professional learning opportunities by directors' needs as they grow throughout their careers. In 1997, Paula Jorde Bloom examined the perceived roles and work history of 257 early care and education program directors. She identified three developmental career stages: beginning directors, competent directors, and master directors based on self-identification. The Directors' Role Perceptions Survey, developed for the 1997 study (Bloom, 1997, 2004), documented key differences in leadership and management practices at various developmental stages of the directors' careers. The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership recently conducted a follow-up study to examine current directors' perceptions about their roles and to identify how their professional development needs differ by their stage of leadership development. Based on narrative descriptions of the three developmental career stages from the original 1997 study, the research team renamed beginning to novice directors and competent to capable directors. Results showed that 1,290 administrators self identified their leadership competence level with the following results: novice -- 69 (5%); capable -- 859 (67%); and master -- 362 (28%). Percentages among developmental stages differed somewhat from the original study: novice -- 30%; capable -- 60%; master -- 10%. It is worth noting that approximately 20% of respondents had participated in a leadership academy prior to completing the survey and the percentage of directors with a baccalaureate degree or higher (79%) exceeds the national norm (62%). Findings from this study provide insight into directors' backgrounds and their perceptions about their roles. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest the professional development needs for directors differ by career stage. These findings may be particularly useful for policy-makers, systems developers, and technical assistance providers in tailoring professional learning for optimal leadership development.