With degree in hand, and ink nearly dry on their first contract, new teachers enter the educational field ready to change students' lives. Filled with hopes, ideas, and excitement, they file into classrooms and begin classroom preparations for their first year. More often than not, novice educators appear to be easily and quickly overwhelmed by the tasks of teaching and often frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to understand the workings of a school's formal and informal culture. And their attempts to build relationships with key school leaders are often thwarted (Angelle, 2006; Brock & Grady, 1998, 2007; McCann, Johannessen & Ricca, 2005; Melton, 2007). Recent scholarship has pinpointed the influence of school leaders' instructional supervision for beginning teachers' growth and development (Alexander, 2007; Jackson, 2008; Peltier-Glaze, 2005; Protheroe, 2006; Tillman, 2005; Wood, 2005). Without adequate professional support, many new teachers look to other P-12 schools or differing careers for employment at the end of their first year of teaching, thus leaving school systems with vacancies to fill (Cheng & Cheung, 2004; Fedricks, 2001; Johnson & Birkeland, 2003). The pace at which novice teachers adapt and develop and the choice either to stay or leave the profession appear to be related to a principal's involvement with beginning teachers (Colley, 2002; Peltier-Glaze, 2005). School leaders are the curators of education and the stewards of the learning environment. Principals are responsible for facilitating the transition of individuals from a university program or a business career into the educational setting. Throughout this process, principals are expected to identify novice teachers' strengths and areas for improvement and provide a plethora of support to address those needs (Melton, 2007; Peltier-Glaze, 2005; Protheroe, 2006). While simultaneously managing a school community and meeting the demands and concerns of novice teachers, principals are called to embody and exude the characteristics and attributes of effective leadership. What characteristics of a school leader define "quality" for a new teacher? What leadership knowledge and skills can most effectively facilitate beginning teachers' professional growth and development? The purpose of this study was to explore school leaders' interactions that were identified in the existing scholarship as influences for facilitating, or hindering, beginning teacher success. The research questions driving this study were, How do novice teachers experience interactions with principals? and How do these reported interactions appear to influence beginning teachers' success from the lived experience of the new teacher?