The objective was to study how leaders and principals of academies evaluate ready-made descriptions of principal’s competences. The competences were grouped into seven main areas, for each separate sub-competences were compiled. Initially, the competence descriptions were compiled from panel method interviews and enquiring 10-15 principals. The basis was the researcher’s own insight into principal’s competences. Research material was collected by a questionnaire in 2009 from almost 100 principals in eastern and western Finland. The enquiry included six main sectors. The analysis and the feedback received, led to the development of yet another class of competence, networking, included in the enquiry of 2011. Replies were received from 79 principals in northern and southern Finland. Factor analysis was used to detect the distribution of variables into different groups whereas cluster analysis was employed to clarify the means used to group the respondents into different respondent profiles.

Conventional straight and percentual distributions were produced from the results. Descriptive statistical analysis demonstrated the importance of different competences in principal’s work. The principals sequenced the main areas of competence as follows: 1) people leadership, 2) operative leadership, 3) strategic leadership, 4) administrative management, 5) self-development, 6) exercising power, 7) networking. The respondents considered their chosen main competences also the ones they personally regarded as their strongest fields of know-how. The fields most in need of development were the administrative management, self-development and strategic leadership. In the factor analysis the solution of five factors proved the most successful: I Sociological Influencing and Developing School II Reflective Occupational Practice and Exercise of Power III Administrative Operations IV Systematic Leadership V Pedagogic Leadership The results enable empirical consolidation of the main competences of principal’s work. Principal’s work has been described systematically and with precision. The study offers a good basis for training new principals and can be extended to examining the qualitative side of principal’s work.