Findings of a study that examined the teacher-administrator relationship from a micropolitical perspective are presented in this paper. Data were derived from interviews with 12 new administrators from school districts within a 50-mile radius of a major metropolitan area in the eastern United States. The micropolitical analysis identifies power distribution, values allocation, coalition building, manipulation of symbols, and conflicting ideologies and turf. Contrary to expectations of the micropolitical hypothesis, the administrators expressed no need to control teachers or to separate administration from the instructional process. Three possible explanations of the results are presented: a "new era" hypothesis; a methodological hypothesis; and a micropolitical hypothesis. From the latter perspective, the data reflect administrators' skills at managing meaning, manipulating symbols, and limiting the diffusion of awareness of the conflicts that occur in their everyday lives. The appendix contains the interview format. (Contains 53 references.) (LMI)