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What educational leadership does - not what educational leadership is. This powerful benchmark statement supports me to tell the stories of principals, middle managers and teachers within different General Further Education College settings. In this interpretive hermeneutical examination of the concepts of leadership and culture from the perspectives of three levels of General Further Education College staff I consider and interpret what they think and believe about contemporary approaches to leadership and the establishment of organisational culture through an examination of their lived experiences. I use a thematic analysis to shine a light on the experiences of three principals, three middle managers and three teachers in three institutions. The impact of the Incorporation of General Further Education Colleges since April 1993 and the subsequent marketisation and significant increase in accountability is well documented over many decades. The recognition of the dichotomy which exists in the further education sector between competing business requirements and approaches to student learning have shaped approaches to leadership and the culture required in individual colleges and the further education sector. My analysis is framed by two leadership relationship models. Nietzsche's master and slave morality is utilised in conjunction with Graen and Uhl-Bien's leader-member exchange theory to examine present approaches to leadership and the relationships they produce to inform macro and institutional sub-cultures to meet the competing demands on the further education sector and individual General Further Education Colleges. This framework is supported by theorists concerned with the evolution of further education leadership type and cultural development in a sector driven by market forces and government policy. The thesis highlights the impact of leadership approaches on college direction and how these concepts impact on organisational outcomes.