Current research indicates that a mass exodus of community-college leadership will occur within the next few years. When combining this research with additional research indicating that the number of degrees conferred by universities in community-college administration decreased 78% between 1983 and 1997, the challenge of meeting the needs of community-college leaders for 2010 becomes evident. Additionally, the old assumptions made about leadership cannot be held sacrosanct in a technological, fast-paced environment, with a growing ethnically diverse population. The questions that must be asked by today's leaders are these: 1) What skills are needed by community college leaders in 2010 and beyond? 2) How are these skills developed? This article suggests 9 essential skills: 1) learning from the past while embracing the future, 2) enriching the inward journey, 3) leading from the center: values, 4) making connections: vision, 5) looking broadly for talent, 6) providing continual leadership opportunities through succession planning, 7) keeping faculty in the mix, 8) forging business and industry connections, and 9) not forgetting students: preparing the future workforce. Thinking, caring community-college leaders have for a number of years read and taken to heart the sagacious admonitions of leadership theorists and practitioners such as Drucker (2001), Lipman-Blumen (1996), Palmer (2000), Senge (1990), and Greenleaf (1996) - along with others writing and practicing in the field of leadership. These caring leaders have impacted the people within their organizations who, in turn, have made positive differences in their own particular units. Yet, in a world of constant change, continual technological revolution, and ever-increasing population diversity, it is imperative that leaders (a) constantly analyze what leadership not only should be but must be if community colleges are to meet the challenges facing them, (b) continually grow leaders within their own organizationsproactively assist in national efforts to expand the leadership pool.