This article deals with the pertinence of the notion of leadership for improving the understanding of the changing patterns of territorial power and action that have occured over the last twenty years. Having conducted a review of the existing approach to this question, the authors underline the importance of a gap in this research: the relationship between leadership and territory. As an antidote, they then propose a three dimensional analytical grid which simultaneously tackles: territorial configurations of power, the political construction of leadership and the role of territorial identiy. This proposition is illustrated with examples taken from a range of empirical research conducted by the authors themselves.