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This document is a chapter in "The Principles and Practice of Educational Management," which aims to provide a systematic and analytical introduction to the study of educational management. The structure of the book reflects the main substantive areas of educational leadership and management, and most of the major themes are covered in the volume's 19 chapters, of which this is one. This chapter examines the role of societal culture on educational leadership. It discusses the meaning of culture and the differences between societal and organizational culture and presents two sets of dimensions as a framework for studying the relationship between leadership and societal cultures. It illustrates a societal and cross-cultural perspective of educational leadership through the application of "cultural dimensions," and identifies challenges to the future development of the field of societal and cross-cultural comparative educational leadership. Since culture forms the context in which school leadership is exercised, it exerts considerable influence on school leaders' actions. But leaders operate within a specific organizational framework, as well, and it is important to understand the differences between societal and organizational culture. Societal cultures differ mostly at the level of basic values, whereas organizational cultures operate at more superficial levels, making them more amenable to management and change. Societal cultures can be described by seven cultural dimensions: power-distributed/power-concentrated; group-oriented/self-oriented; consideration/aggression; proactivism/fatalism; generative/replicative; limited relationship/holistic relationship; and male influence/female influence. Examples of how these dimensions operate in the U.S. and Japan are provided, along with strategies educational leaders can use to clarify their roles in different cultural dimensions. (Contains 35 references.) (RJM)