In this project, the authors used the Essential Behavioral Leadership Qualities (EBLQ) method of measuring leadership effectiveness to assess and compare the effectiveness of principals (leaders) of residential schools for children with blindness or low vision in the United States (U.S.) and Nigeria. A total of 248 teachers (subordinates) in 25 schools in the U.S. and 271 teachers in 22 schools in Nigeria, assessed their principals against the qualities they (teachers) perceived to be essential for effective leadership in their respective countries. Differences found in perceived EBLQ items for leadership effectiveness in both countries demonstrated support for both the trans-cultural and culture-specific perspectives of leadership effectiveness. The outcomes in both countries indicated that the principals could derive a "coaching" effect from the two studies regarding the efforts needed to improve their leadership styles to achieve congruence between essentiality and effectiveness.