Empirical studies of school leadership in South Asia are limited. This qualitative study examines the ways in which principals in three award-winning community high schools enact leadership practices in their specific contexts in Nepal. The results reveal that the principals used multiple frames of leadership and were proactive towards reforms. High levels of interest, collaboration, prohibition of political activities inside the school, approachability for parents, recruitment of high-quality teachers and innovative programmes proved to be critical for success. This study has implications for how principals enact their role to transform low-performing schools into high-performing schools within a short period.