The Pakistani education system, like many other countries across the world, is going through a phase of concerted change in the first decade of the 21st century and school leaders are expected to play a crucial role in the management of this change programme. This article considers the impact of educational change on a group of school leaders who were involved in a major area of this programme of reform: the curriculum and assessment system at Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) level. This article draws from a qualitative enquiry that included semi-structured interviews with Pakistani school leaders examining their experiences, views and perceptions of the change programme. In the interviews the school leaders were asked to reflect on the process of change management in their institutions, the problems they have faced and any suggestions they have for the improvement in the implementation of the change initiative. Drawing from these findings, two aspects are explored in this article: first, the responses of the school leaders to the change initiative; and second, the implications of leading a programme of externally driven change. From this analysis an emergent, grounded model of educational change management in the context of a developing country is proposed. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.)