The study aimed to examine the levels and patterns of Principal Change Leadership Competencies (PCLC) in Malaysian High-Performing Secondary Schools (HPSS) and Mediocre-Performing Secondary Schools (MPSS). Data were collected from school principals, senior assistants, and teachers in HPSS and MPSS. A total of 1,010 respondents completed the survey. The findings revealed that (1) school principals of HPSS and MPSS ranked themselves the highest in PCLC, followed by senior assistants and teachers; (2) school principals, senior assistants, and teachers of HPSS also rated school principals high in PCLC in comparison with those reported by their counterparts of MPSS, respectively; (3) school principals of HPSS scored higher than school principals of MPSS in all the four domains of PCLC; (4) school principals of HPSS were rated as competent in all the four domains of PCLC whereas their counterparts of MPSS were rated as competent in three domains of PCLC except Defusing Resistance and Conflict; (5) both school principals of HPSS and MPSS achieved the highest mean score of PCLC in Goal Framing, followed by Institutionalizing, Capacity Building, and Defusing Resistance and Conflict. Factors why school principals of MPSS were found less competent than school principals of HPSS in implementing change were discussed.