The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify and better understand leadership styles and practices that contribute to extended presidential tenure and the development of high-performing community colleges. Profiles were developed drawing from the six California community college chancellors, presidents, and superintendent/presidents who have served within their current role for at least 10 years at their institutions as of April 2011. The study utilized the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and in-depth qualitative interviews for the leader profiles and drew organizational performance data from the Accountability Reporting for the Community College's (ARCC) annual publication of the California Community College Chancellor's Office. All the participants in the study were "hands on" leaders whose strongest scores were on the transformational scale of the MLQ5x. In addition, each participant had scores on the transactional scale of the MLQ5x, which suggest that, when needed, they have the capacity to step back and look at circumstances where transactional leadership was the best approach to utilize. Regarding the analysis of the ARCC data, each of the institutions out-performed state or peer group scores on at least one of the performance indicators. Thus, each of these institutions had areas of high performance. However, the quantitative data do not necessarily support the claim that these are high performing community colleges as measured by the ARCC. In a review of ARCC data for districts that were not included in the study (those whose leaders have less than 10 years of experience in their current roles), there was evidence that a number of these institutions have out-performed the six considered in this study. The qualitative findings, however, suggest that there may be more to high performance than what is measured in the ARCC data. When asked to identify characteristics of high performing community colleges, the participants in this study did not emphasize measures of performance such as those summarized by ARCC. Instead, the participants in the study discussed at length the importance of identifying core values, designing strong planning processes including the establishment of clear directions and goals, developing a realistic budget to maintain fiscal integrity, engaging in meaningful accountability efforts, and taking appropriate risks. [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://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]