This qualitative study focused on the perceived effectiveness of a formal mentoring program in developing instructional leadership skills for K-12 novice principals with 5 or fewer years of experience. The 13 participants for this study were derived from 200 public schools in the Southwest Tennessee area. The participants consented to participate in semi-structured interviews, which included six interview questions with two parts related to the four Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS) that define instructional leadership skills. This study investigated the mentoring strategies novice principals perceive to be most effective in developing instructional leadership skills and the principal perceptions of the mentoring program characteristics that benefit or hinder the principal mentorship experience. Interview responses were transcribed using pseudonyms and NVivo, a computer-assisted qualitative analysis software (CAQDAS) program. This study found that novice principals perceived the formal mentoring program to be effective in developing instructional leadership skills. The prominent themes from the interview data in the category of effective experiences and significant outcomes were instructional practice enhancement, data-informed decision-making, and prompting self-reflection and stress management. The data also revealed that the prominent themes in the effective mentoring strategies category were trust and relationship building, balancing challenge with support, and coaching and role modeling. Consistent with previous research, prominent themes identified in the category of effective characteristics of a mentoring program were a safe and confidential environment, ongoing communication and availability, a structured goal-oriented approach, and intentional pairing. Two themes that stood out as a significant barrier for the mentoring program were the lack of time and availability. [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.]