The research context for this article is the difficulty being experienced by a number of school systems, especially in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, in recruiting principals. In our discussion we draw on preliminary findings from ongoing research into the experiences of a cohort of aspiring primary and secondary school principals. Our data comprise the electronic journal (E-journal) entries of the 21 aspirants. We characterize the E-journal reflections as identity narratives in which the aspirants are able to explore a range of feelings, challenges and uncertainties associated with the possibility of future principal role incumbency. The significance of these E-journalling narratives, therefore, is that they provide aspirants with an opportunity, through semi-private reflection, to begin positioning themselves for leadership. For this reason we articulate the idea of 'positioning space', a supportive holding environment which facilitates the exploration of potential and possible selves and we explore some properties and protocols associated with occupancy of this space.