The main objective of this paper is to put forward the idea that the bipolar challenges that educational leaders are confronted with can be addressed instead as complementary opportunities. The research paradigm employed in this study is qualitative and the research approach consists mainly of literature review from books, journals and mass media, triangulated with experiential learning from my service in education over 35 years. Data analysis is carried out through contents and discourse analysis. Globalisation is usually blamed for undermining national autonomy by local authorities, who are either incapable or unwilling to address local challenges instead of utilising them as opportunities for exploration; tradition and modernity should not be viewed as a bipolar, but as a natural progression; short-term planning, being the breakdown of long-term planning should be faced as an intertwined process, while competition might take a positive perspective if it were viewed as a goal of reaching one's optimal expectations. Finally, spirituality and materialism may coexist when a happy medium is struck in how these are pursued through education.