Transformational leadership that carries visionary values will channel energy to members to increase motivation for improving professionalism and performance. The study was conducted to examine the implementation of transformational leadership by the principal in an effort to improve teacher performance at SMP 2 Jekulo, Kudus Regency. The transformational leadership applied includes four main aspects: motivation, intellectual stimulation, individual attention (individual consideration), and ideal influence (leader behavior). The research method used is qualitative descriptive, with data collection through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of the study indicate that principals who are able to motivate teachers, provide intellectual stimulation, provide sufficient individual attention and provide good examples can significantly improve teacher performance. The application of transformational leadership has been proven to have a positive influence on improving the quality of learning and optimizing student learning outcomes. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the application of the principal's transformational leadership strategy at SMP 2 Jekulo, Kudus Regency is very effective in encouraging improved teacher performance, which in turn is significant in improving the quality of education at SMP 2 Jekulo, Kudus Regency

Keywords: transformational leadership; principal;  teacher performance; learning quality