Urban middle schools face many accountability measures which often create the need for school improvement. Leading urban middle schools through the change process is extremely challenging for principals. The combination of leading change, leading urban schools, and leading middle schools is an uphill climb. Teachers' perceptions of leadership strategies and techniques can improve principals' practice. Too often, the voice of teachers is ignored when school leadership is examined. This phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers to examine teachers' perceptions of effective and ineffective leadership during the change process. The purposeful sample drew from 3 urban middle schools undergoing state mandated change processes. The interviews were coded and analyzed for themes that will improve leadership during the change process at urban middle schools. Seven primary themes emerged from the perspective of teachers: collaboration, shared leadership, instructional leadership, management of student behavior, presence/communication, the importance of relationships, and specific leadership traits. The author concludes that building a supportive environment for teachers and creating a team culture focused on student learning are the most important leadership tasks for school leaders in urban middle schools during change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]