To determine the effect of authentic leadership style on the performance of principals of schools, this research was conducted using an exploratory mixed method. In the first phase that is, qualitative section, 13 experts of educational leadership were purposefully selected in Isfahan province and a semi-structured interview was conducted till theoretical saturation. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The main categories of authentic leadership were identified in seven themes of awareness, honesty, trust, and accurate assessment, supporter, transformational and training. In the second phase, a 24-item questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was administered. The tools’ face and content validity were confirmed by experts. In total 120 questionnaires were completed and analyzed. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha of 0.82. In analyzing data structural equation method and exploratory factor analysis by PLS software were used and the effects of the observed variables on the existing variables were investigated. The findings reveal that; authentic leadership has a positive effect on the performance of school principals. Therefore, the results of the conceptual model were analyzed through the analysis of the path of authentic leadership and the performance of school principals.
