The past decade has witnessed dramatic change in the direction of education in the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). During this period, national leaders in this region accepted that the long-term economic growth of their societies required diversification beyond oil and movement towards the development of knowledge-based economies (Al-Taneiji and McLeod, 2008, Algarni and Male, 2014, Gaad et al., 2006, Macpherson et al., 2007). This recognition resulted in renewed investment in education in concert with the adoption of reforms that have sought to reshape the aims, structure, and content of their education systems (Al-Ani & Ismail, 2015; Al; Barwani & Osman, 2010; Common, 2008, Gaad et al., 2006, Hamad and Al-Ani, 2016). One consequence of these policy-driven reforms undertaken by the GCC States has been an unprecedented focus on the ‘leadership’ role of school administrators (Al-Barwani, 2011, Al-Manthri, 2001, Alhajri, 2013, Common, 2008, Common, 2011, Romanowski and Romanowski, 2017, Thorne, 2011).