Principals can and do have an impact on the performance of their schools. Instructional leadership is a key factor influencing that performance, and maximizing the time allocated to instructional leadership can impact the principal's level of influence. Because of operational issues, like budget and finance, principals have less time to focus on instructional leadership. This dissertation in practice focused on both leadership and human resource development and examined the impact a training program focused on budget and finance issues has on preservice principals' perception of readiness. Prior to the development of this project, the district's principal preparation program did not contain content related specifically to the identified budget processes in the school district. The project's theoretical foundation is rooted in improvement science. A needs assessment consisting of a review of current practices led to a gap analysis and, ultimately, a root cause analysis of elements that were reducing the amount of time principals spend on instructional leadership. Training and preparation in operational responsibilities of the principalship, specifically in budget and finance, were identified as an intervention that could improve both the self-efficacy of the principal candidates and their future performance as a principal. The training sessions focused on three areas that coordinated with the district's seasons of budgeting: budget monitoring, membership projections and preparing a school's projected budget. The change initiative was implemented as part of the district's principal preparation program. Three 2-hour training sessions were delivered at specific times throughout the year to coincide with actions the program participants' principals should be completing. The project required the participants to complete the same work their supervising principals were being asked to complete for their respective schools. This practical element proved to be critical to the success of the project. The Phillips model for evaluation was used to evaluate the change initiative, and specified objectives aligned to all five levels of evaluation were met. The program participants were surveyed on the relevance and impact of each of the sessions. Participants were also given pre and post surveys asking them to reflect on the same statements. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests indicated that changes in participant responses from the pre and post surveys were significant and not due to chance. This project is relevant for individuals seeking to study the impact on operational training for preservice principals as well as those looking to design effective principal preparation programs. [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.]