Principals are in the greatest hierarchical position of authority within the school community and have the second greatest impact on student achievement, second only to teachers. If they hope to lead an effective organization through successful reform efforts, then they must understand how effective leadership behaviors and trust intertwine and impact the school. The quantitative study surveyed 329 certificated secondary classroom teachers from middle, high, and atypical schools in one large, urban, Southern Californian district. Bivariate intercorrelational scale, analysis of variance, and stepwise regression analyses were utilized to analyze responses from the paper questionnaire. Findings revealed the following: (a) strong positive correlations between trust and effective leadership behaviors; (b) leadership behaviors impacted the perception of the principal’s trustworthiness; (c) trust behaviors impacted the perception of principal’s ability to lead effectively; (d) teacher demographics impacted the perception of the principal’s trustworthiness and leadership ability; and (e) trust and effective leadership behaviors have mutually dependent, reciprocal relationships. Therefore, effective principals understand the developing trusting relationships with teachers is a worthwhile
