In this article we explore the perspectives of school leadership and management on the principal's role in learners' academic performance. School leadership and learner performance continue to be of great concern in the South African education system. We explore the relationship between school leadership and learner performance from a school leadership and management perspective. Since the attainment of democracy, the South African education landscape has been plagued by poor learner performance. While the reasons are as diverse as the nation itself, the adverse effects of poor learner performance on the school system or the quality of education cannot be overemphasised. As a result, we explored school leadership and learner performance as it relates to the leadership of secondary school principals. Principals' lived stories provided the empirical evidence for this article. The findings reveal that a principal's leadership plays an important role in school management and learner performance.