AbstractRecent efforts in research on leadership in voluntary not‐for‐profit organizations, research that has influenced the education and training of leaders, have been concentrated on identifying the behaviors or competencies of effective leaders. This article, while recognizing the value of competence typologies, questions the dominance of that approach and proposes that more research attention should be paid to the wisdom, creativity, and insight of leaders of voluntary organizations, focusing on their theories‐in‐use, which they use to create the meaning of their own and others' experience and