The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school board hiring practices and specific leadership behaviors. The current priority of educational leaders is often spoken of in terms of accountability for student achievement. This study considered the priority of educational improvement, and examined hiring practices using five specific leadership behaviors, which have been indicated through meta-analysis to be related to student achievement. The five leadership behaviors were based upon "District Leadership that Works" by Marzano and Waters (2009) and were as follows: 1. Ensuring collaborative goal setting; 2. Establishing non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction; 3. Creating board alignment with and support of district goals; 4. Monitoring achievement and instruction goals; 5. Allocating resources to support the goals for achievement and instruction. This study determined whether or not these behaviors were sought out in various stages of hiring processes. The sample for data collection was five school districts stratified into two separate groups. One group consisted of districts that hired using a search consultant, and the other consisted of districts that have hired without. The data were collected from four stages in the hiring process. This qualitative study was designed to determine the relationships between the five leadership behaviors and data found in the four steps of hiring processes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]