Educators have at their disposal a large and substantive library of literature that defines and describes the attributes of highly effective leaders. Ashforth (1994) and Blase and Blase (2002) point out that, although volumes have been written about effective leadership, there has been surprisingly little discussion and research dedicated to ineffective leadership. Ineffective leadership is more than the absence of effective leadership behaviors. With this in mind, the author offers the conceptual term "cheap leadership". Cheap leadership is an all-too-common leadership style characterized by the negative uses of power. Cheap leadership is found at every level of the school system. The cheap leader relies on coercive and reward power, manipulation, and the creation of perceived enemies to motivate others. Cheap leadership results in organizational gains and relationships that are superficial at best and have a short shelf life, often leading to organizational dysfunction and employee disaffection. The author also offers four steps for the prevention and arresting of cheap leadership. And he further concludes that it is not enough to merely name cheap leadership, identify its indicators, and describe it in clear terms; supervisors and leadership teams must work together to extinguish negative leadership behaviors and to foster the principle-centered and effective behaviors necessary to articulate a compelling vision, create ownership among staff members, and achieve and sustain meaningful school improvement. (Contains 1 figure.)