Taking an inquiry stance on one's leadership practice differs from the evaluative, diagnostic approaches often emphasized in today's climate of accountability. As "practitioner scholars", presenters in this session have consciously chosen to take an "inquiry stance" recognizing that the choice of an ethnographic approach to leading requires a deliberate period of data collecting, as well as the trust, patience, and collaboration of others. All urban school leaders, they have taken time to read and understand their contexts, established trust with colleagues and stakeholders, and worked toward collaboratively "learning new ways" of thinking, being, and doing toward social justice ends.