Maurer and Davidson believe that traditional leadership based on "positional" power will be replaced by a "community of leadership" in which power comes more from expertise and reputation, which result in trust.

"We believe that the traditional beliefs of leadership no longer meet the demands of schools and the need for change. A community of leadership with inclusive participation, true empowerment, and expert of ad hoc leadership will succeed. ... The new paradigm -- the community of leadership -- has at its core authority derived from expert and referent power. That is, participants with special knowledge -- expert power -- and participants with extraordinary reputations and influence -- referent power -- guide decisions about the school's organization, governance, and instructional practices." (p. 12)

Razik and Swanson (1995) concluded that there are five sources of power and authority for formal leaders:

• legitimate -- position within the organization (superintendent, principal, etc.)
• reward -- the ability to reward people for performance (comes with legitimate power)
• coercive -- the ability to motivate through the avoidance of a negative consequence (also comes with legitimate power)
• referent -- collaborative leadership built on personal beliefs
• expert -- belief that the leader possesses unique knowledge or skill

Maurer and Davidson believe that:

"effective leadership, formal or otherwise, comes best from expert and referent power and authority." (p.14)

and that:

"notions of power will fade as commitment to expertise grows." (p. 15)

Gary Wills (1994) says that leadership must involve "a competent leader, willing and able followers, and worthwhile, shared goals." (p. 16)

Maurer and Davidson believe that:

"The community of leadership must be visionary, must be capable of action, must be able to complete tasks, and must believe in worthwhile, shared goals. The difference between the less effective current conception and the new paradigm is egalitarian power and authority relationships and an expanded view of participation. Participation and expert knowledge shared among equally valued and committed members of the community of leadership represents a systemic change -- a change in the school's culture." (p. 17)