Charter school leaders have to overcome many obstacles during the development stages and the operations of the schools. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to identify the leadership qualities and skills needed to operate a charter school. The participants volunteered to participate in this study were selected from charter schools in San Antonio, Texas. The participants had to meet the following criteria: the participant leaders were in compliance with state and federal entities and the participant leaders had operated a charter school during the 2007-2008 academic school year. The sample of this study was nine at-risk charter school leaders who met the qualifications. Open-ended questions were used during the interviews with the participants. The interviews took place at the charter school leader's office and were audio-recorded. The major themes found in the study included (a) finances, (b) time, (c) Texas Education Agency, (d) sharing of knowledge, (e) passion, (f) competition, (g) community, and (h) motivation. According to the charter school leaders, a charter school leader needs to know about finances, budgets, accounting, management, and marketing to operate a charter school. The charter school leaders believed that having a background in business and education was essential. [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://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]