A weaver is intrigued by an opportunity to create a tapestry that represents the varied qualities of leadership. To begin the intricate tapestry, the weaver carefully selects thread colors: bright orange for commitment, deep green for relationships, mustard yellow for trust, and ripe red for collaboration. With nimble fingers, the weaver adds a sea blue thread for values and a steel gray thread for service. Carefully woven into the pattern, each thread contributes beautifully to the increasing complexity of the tapestry. The combination of all the colors is inspiring to all who behold it. Last, a thread of black is woven around the perimeter of the tapestry. This sum of all colors represents the vision that frames and links each of the colors.

The tapestry is a holistic image of quality leadership. The weaver neither followed nor suggested a formula or exact proportions of colors. Each tapestry of leadership created by the weaver represents a leader's unique blend and arrangement of qualities. Although researchers have documented many characteristics of inspiring and effective leaders, we focus here on the five qualities of leadership that we found critical to building and sustaining professional learning communities in schools: vision, values, service, capacity building, and relationship building. The chapter includes five case studies—one for each quality. The case studies represent fictitious schools, yet they are based on the experiences of the authors as they worked with various elementary schools.

Past, Present, and Future