The aim of this thesis was to investigate how preschool principals perceive the conditions and opportunities for the development of professional competencies, how they understand and experience their own leadership practices and the obstacles to effective leading in the context of the Croatian early childhood education system, as well as their insights derived from their leadership mandate during the Covid-19 health crisis. A qualitative approach and the method of semi-structured interviews were applied. The interview protocol consisted of questions categorized into four groups of research problems related to formal, non-formal and informal modes of acquiring professional competencies of principals, characteristic and style of leadership, achieving cooperation and partnership, and leadership challenges arisen during the pandemic. The research was undertaken on a sample of five principals of early childhood and preschool education institutions. Research has shown that not enough attention is paid to the formal and actual competencies in the process of selecting leaders of early childhood education institutions in our country. The need has arisen for the professionalization of the vocation of principals, the reconceptualization of their formal education, as well as the importance of non-formal education through seminars and workshops and everyday work experiences, the importance of building a collaborative culture with educational stakeholders and the capacity for change. As the biggest obstacles to the realization of high-quality relationships and partnerships between all educational stakeholders were identified as the following: motivational deficiencies, incompatible vision and insufficient financial resources. The paper is concluded by identifying key changes necessary in the area of professional development of principals and other educational stakeholders; management of finances; institutional networking; and structural and regulatory framework.