Findings of a study of independent school heads' needs for and attitudes toward professional development are presented in this paper, with a focus on contextual problems and perceptions of management and leadership. A survey mailed to all 988 member schools of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in 1989 elicited 500 responses. Telephone interviews were conducted with a small subsample of survey respondents. Findings indicate that school heads identified the promotion of instructional climate and values as their preeminent leadership role, yet they assigned a medium priority rank to curriculum development. They viewed student discipline, teacher evaluation, and financial duties as managerial tasks with limited scopes of leadership. Tensions expressed in regard to management and leadership suggest that: (1) independent schools may be "overmanaged and underled"; and (2) regular assessment of the administrator-board relationship is important. A recommendation is that professional development programs should address these issues. (32 references) (LMI)