The purpose of this study is to explore qualities that make school leaders effective in the secondary school setting -- transformational leadership and grit -- and to understand the extent to which school leaders embody both traits in their professional practice. Also, the issue of principal attrition is explored during this research to determine why school leaders who are both transformational and have higher instances of grit are less likely to leave their position as a secondary principal. Using qualitative methodologies 13 principals were interviewed to explore transformational leadership, grit, and principal attrition. The themes identified under transformational leadership included vision, trust, transparency, shared leadership, collaboration, and professional development. The themes that emerged for grit, for consistency of interests, were: decisions being made based on the needs of the community, consistent initiatives in the leader's schools, promoting equity/access, and promoting buy-in. The themes that emerged for git, perseverance of effort, were: managing setbacks, hard work, and diligence. The themes that emerged for principal attrition included total years of leadership served, education level and attrition, reasons to leave the profession, and motivation to serve the community. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]