A review of literature on the principal's changing role in shared decision making is provided in this paper, which discusses the following areas: policy development; the egalitarian ethic for teacher participation; the principal/faculty relationship; the principal's functions in shared decision making; and elements of successful decision making. The principal is crucial to effective shared decision making. Recommendations for the principal include improving knowledge about participative decision making in the literature, allowing time to initiate dialogue, establishing an agreement with the district administration, and providing faculty training. The issue is not one of losing influence, but rather of offering initiative to the greatest number of professional staff possible. (15 references) (LMI)