The purpose of this study was to assess the experience of principals in governmentrnsecondary schools in Gulele Subcity of Addis Ababa ,Ethiopia, namely:rnMedhanialem Preparatory School, Dilber Secondary School and Meeraf SecondaryrnSchool. The study deals with examining the actual experience and problems ofrnprincipals in government schools. The review of literature focused on leadership inrneducation within this concept, functions of leadership, effectiveness of schoolrnleaders, elements of effective leadership and school improvement initiatives. Thernresearch methodology employed in the study was both quantitative and qualitativernapproaches. Accordingly, a questionnaire was prepared to be filled by teachers, vicernprincipals and department heads. For the qualitative portion, interviews andrnobservation were administered. Regarding the questionnaires, distributed to samplernsize of 222 teachers, 31 vice principals and department heads. 256 out of the 270rndistributed questionnaires were returned, producing an overall 94% return rate. Afterrndata were screened, three survey questions were eliminated, due to missingrnresponses. Data obtained through questionnaires were analysed using statisticalrntools such as mean, standard deviation, Chi-square and t-test. The findings of thernstudy revealed that principals are less effective in their leadership due to lack ofrnexperience and qualification in the profession. Finally, based on the findings andrnconclusions, recommendations were made on capacity building and empowering ofrnprincipals to do their work effectively on instructional leadership, in turn, encouragingrnparticipatory approach of leadership. Furthermore, Addis Ababa Education Bureaurn(AAEB) is responsible to give directives and guidelines in the cases that wheneverrnshortcomings and gaps are observed and the schools should organized publicrnrelations to create school-community links