The practices and overt behaviors of leaders are the immediate causes of their impact on organizations; they also dominate discussions on effective leadership and frequently shape the content of leadership development programs. However, understanding these practices is at best a necessary but not a complete explanation for effective leadership and its development. This paper delves into three categories of "personal leadership resources" that are instrumental in explaining the behavior of particularly effective leaders. These resources are often termed "dispositions," a label sometimes used interchangeably with traits, abilities, personal leadership resources, and components of a leader's personal "capital." The emphasis of this section is on three categories of resources (social, psychological, and ethical), primarily identified through systematic research methods. For each category, the paper outlines the conceptual framework used to view its dispositions and explains how each specific disposition within the category contributes to a leader’s effectiveness. Additionally, the paper reviews evidence regarding how each disposition aids leaders in achieving valuable organizational outcomes. The final section discusses implications for research and leadership development.

Knowledge, knowledge management, school administrators, competencies, school