To discover if there were differences in the influence-gaining behaviors of principals in schools of varying levels of instructional effectiveness, 9 of 19 urban schools involved in a school improvement project were selected for study. All the schools met the following criteria: involvement in the project for at least 1 year, employment of the same principal for a minimum of 3 years, and student population composed of at least 95 percent minorities. Based on student test scores, two elementary and one middle school were designated as "high-achieving schools" and four elementary and two middle schools were designated as "other schools." Data for the study were obtained from questionnaire responses by teachers and principals on their perceptions of the principals' behaviors categorized as follows: referent, expert, rewarder, coercer, legitimate authority, involver, and norm setter. Observations of principal behaviors and interviews were conducted to confirm the information obtained from the questionnaires. Results are displayed in eight tables. Although principals were ranked very similarly by teachers in high-achieving and in other schools in terms of the influence-gaining behaviors used, principals of high-achieving schools exhibited six of the seven behaviors to a significantly higher degree than did the principals of the other schools. (MLF)