Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how important the choice of theoretical perspective is on the analyses of empirical data from a Danish case study. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical bases for the analyses are qualitative, longitudinal case studies of school leadership in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). This article discusses and compares analyses from two analytical perspectives. The first is a welfare state perspective, which includes education for democracy and social justice. The second perspective is a competitive state perspective. Here the educational focus is on educating for employability on a labour market. Findings: School leaders are seen to comply with most of the demands of the competitive state: e.g. demands for negotiations and effectiveness. Leaders also intended to lead schools and education for democracy and social justice. Originality/value: The limitations and possibilities are described more clearly than usual. They therefore provide deeper insights into the complexities of school leadership. (Contains 1 note.)