The study examines the experiences principals have with pressure in interaction with teachers, school owners and external actors when leading local development work. The empirical material consists of interviews with three principals in a medium-sized municipality. The analysis is content-based, theory-driven and based on deductive categorisation. The theoretical perspectives deal with interaction, leadership, agency and cognitive balance. The study finds that pressure is experienced differently, depending on the source of pressure, the strength of the pressure and what kind of capacity the informants have for managing pressure. School owners exert considerable pressure through their guidelines and tight deadlines, and the informants call for greater understanding of how to promote quality in schools. At the same time, the school owner is perceived as an open and trusting supporter. The work of following up children with major needs is prioritized, but it takes a lot of time and resources from the teachers. The informants consider this may be an obstacle for implementation of developing plans. It also varies how much principals involve themselves in development work. Interaction with trade unions and parents requires a lot of resources that could otherwise have been used to develop the professional community. The strategies used to deal with pressure are partly organisational, as when delegating tasks, partly cognitive, as regulating one’s own participation, defending one’s own choices and putting less emphasize om school owners’ guidelines.