This study explores concepts of learning used by leaders, focusing on learning for leadership through day-to-day workplace experiences. The participants were drawn from the senior management team within a school, the chair of governors of the school and the local authority school improvement advisor. Concept mapping was used as a participatory research method. Maps were created by the participants and linkages discussed. The maps indicated that learning for leadership from experience was multifaceted. The language used to describe concepts of learning reflected generic and everyday concepts, rather than the language of pedagogy or concepts used in professional training/the literature. The study alerts us to the difficulties in embedding concepts used in formal training in the everyday life of educational professionals. It also highlights the use of concept mapping as a technique for exploring workplace learning. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)