The press for accountability in public education around the world , most notably expressed in such governmental policy initiatives as No Child Left Behind (2002) in the United States, the Educational Reform Act (1988) in Great Britain, Report on Quality (1997) in Sweden, and Schools Assistance 2004; 2005 in Australia, has spawned a wide variety of responses by national and local educational authorities to improve schools and to enhance student learning outcomes. These initiatives reflect the rise of market place forces and “new managerialism”  in education. One of the most promising school improvement strategies to emerge in response to calls for greater accountability measures is organizational capacity building. In this paper, we explore seven critical elements of capacity building in schools. These include —1) aspirations, 2) design of strategic actions and goals, 3) organizational skills, e.g. resource management, 4) human resources e.g., the enhancement of teachers’ professional knowledge, skills, and commitments (human and cultural capital), the allocation of appropriate resources (fiscal, technical, and human), and organizational/professional autonomy, 5) systems and infrastructure processes, 6) organizational structure, and 7) culture. After making an argument for the importance of each of these dimensions for building capacity in schools in response to new demands for greater accountability, we examine two critical strands. First, we describe ethical considerations embedded in each of these dimensions and their implications for the authentic work of school leaders.  Second, based on survey data we use cross-national/cultural analyses to illustrate common themes of the accountability movement around the world as well as highlight important differences based on unique local/national contextual factors that impose limits on the current global tsunami of accountability rhetoric and policies.