This article argues that while notions of collective leadership, such as distributed or shared, are nominally more inclusive, barriers to inclusive ways of thinking about and relating to one another will be multi-faceted (past and present) and formidable to change. This argument emanates from a critical review of research literature and an in-depth ethnographic case study of leading teacher leadership in a multi-campus school. From this critical perspective of leadership and change, this article concludes that context must remain intact to the versions of collective leadership put forward. As a consequence, no-one should leave idle ideas about what works, for whom and in what circumstances. To anchor the fieldwork analysis, theories of power and the thinking from those in inclusive education are explored.