Community college leaders face new and diverse challenges, often requiring different orientations to leadership than were effective previously. Yet, focusing on leadership as a series of career stages through which particular skills and techniques are learned often leaves leaders without the capacity to do the adaptive work required of their changing organizations. Conceptualizing leadership as an on-going process of learning relinquishes the need for a specific career orientation, and focuses on developing and sharing leadership throughout the college. Taking this approach uncovers mental models that affect how administrators see the world and, therefore, act within any environment. It shifts the goal of leadership preparation to understanding the concepts (and processes) of transforming organizational reality, challenging organizational status quo, and of deep change. It also ties leadership more directly to creating learning environments for leaders and others, which is important for community colleges interested in fulfilling the role of learning colleges. A model presenting leadership as learning concepts is presented, showing changes over time reflecting cognitive development of leaders and followers.