Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to one's understanding of how beginning principals in Hong Kong exercise leadership by exploring the concurrent influence of their inner worlds and the external contexts on their leadership within a reforming environment. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a study of the work lives of beginning principals in Hong Kong, this paper discusses a number of findings which attest to the complexity of the role of principals in a reforming environment and how this is influenced by an amalgam of personal and other contextual factors. Findings: These include a set of categories and sub-categories which help to frame an understanding of the work lives of beginning principals, and a rough typology of beginning principals. Originality/value: The paper contains original data about secondary school beginning principals in Hong Kong, illustrating how their personal characteristics interact with other contextual features to shape their leadership. (Contains 6 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)