Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the behaviors of visionary leaders within small school districts with fewer than 3,500 students and to examine their congruency with the ten characteristics of servant leadership. Procedure. Nonprobability, purposive sampling was used for this study. A nomination letter was sent to the county superintendents of seven small rural counties with districts of fewer than 3,500 students to suggest names of visionary school leaders. Eighteen of the nominated twenty-eight visionary leaders participated in the interview process. Interview questions incorporating the ten servant leadership characteristics were developed. All interviews were conducted over the phone with the selected visionary school leaders. Key findings. The behaviors of nominated visionary leaders were congruent with nine of ten servant leadership characteristics. The participants exhibited behaviors that closely matched many of the servant leadership characteristics. For example, three servant leader characteristics such as listening, empathy, and awareness of others were associated with leader's using behaviors such as listening, asking questions, and paying attention . Other characteristics such as conceptualization, foresight, and persuasion were associated with behaviors such as talking with people, involving key players, and giving people the opportunity to dialogue together. Many of the leaders' behaviors expressed more than one characteristic. Other key findings included the interviewees self-identified as collaborative leaders. Collaborative efforts were described as using consensus-building and shared decision-making models. Leaders identified dialogue as an integral part of their staff meetings and a critical piece in facilitating collaboration. Visionary leaders who self-identified as "passionate about their work" also displayed an astute awareness of stewardship. Conclusions and recommendations. This study validates the congruency of visionary leader behaviors with nine of the ten servant leadership characteristics frequently identified by this group of educational leaders. A recommendation was made to further study how servant leadership characteristics might directly impact the effectiveness of leaders.