The values that school principals use when solving organisational problems were studied. Data were collected by a think aloud procedure, in which the participants verbalised their thoughts while working on a set of five administrative problems. The results show that the principals referred to seven values that had subtle but important sub-texts: confidentiality, nurturing, fairness, personal effectiveness, collaboration, consideration/care and mission. The findings were found to reinforce and extend themes in the recent literature on leadership, particularly with regard to school administrators' cognition, the complexity perspective on administration, moral leadership and reflective practice. (Contains 2 tables.)