In this chapter, the authors explain several reasons for wanting to see for themselves–in close-up—what really goes on in the minds and in the environment of the new leaders. The percentage of leaders who fail early in taking up the task is disproportionately high and yet no really satisfactory explanation has been found for this. A kind of mythology of heroism tends to gravitate around the idea of leadership and they seem to them to be far removed from reality as it actually experienced. The authors focus on the description of the lived experience of the leaders in the four case studies; each one illustrates a different transition context: start-up, realignment, turnaround or sustaining success. They explore the psychological sources of the tensions inherent in transition, emphasizing the fact that they believe to be perfectly normal phenomena. The author also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.