Findings of the first phase of a longitudinal study that developed a descriptive profile of new principals in New York City are presented in this paper. A survey of 216 newly appointed principals in New York City elicited 158 responses, a 73 percent response rate. Findings indicate that despite the emphasis on aspects of transformational leadership, the new principals' conceptions of their roles appear to be traditional: they view themselves as instructional leaders; give more attention to general managerial roles; and resist sharing authority. Within the district framework, the new principals see themselves as subordinates who have little autonomy and are expected to be compliant. They view bureaucratic obstacles as outside their control and lack strategies for dealing with obstacles that directly impact their performance. Given these findings, it seems unlikely that even those who espouse transformational leadership will be able to implement transformational-leadership strategies without additional district support. If superintendents want principals to act as change agents, they must convey those expectations clearly and provide principals with the authority, autonomy, and resources necessary to exercise leadership. (Contains 26 references.) (LMI)