Despite the widespread introduction of microcomputers into the nation's schools, tremendous variations exist in the frequency and success of their implementation. This study focuses on the principal's role as one possible cause of these variations. Recent research has identified two major role activities of principals: instructional leadership and school management. Instructional leadership activities, generally considered an important factor in creating effective schools, include goal setting, supervising instruction, and active decision making. School management activities, considered more "typical" and less dynamic in nature, include tasks such as record keeping, scheduling, and building operations. To examine the nature of these two roles and to determine their impact on the implementation of microcomputer use, data was collected from teachers, principals, and media center directors in a random sample of 130 elementary schools in northeastern Illinois. The findings show that although some elements of instructional leadership are associated with successful implementation, schools whose principals are skilled managers have the strongest computer curricula. Their effectiveness in coordinating and facilitating new programs suggests a new area of inquiry for the theory of instructional leadership. Five pages of references, two tables, and two figures are appended. (IW)