The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore the leadership practices and behaviors of a sample of 11 Egyptian Integrated Water Management District (IWMD) managerial staff in bringing about, at the service delivery level, the participation of farmers in the decision-making process over the planning and use of the district water resources. Semi-structured interviews were the main research tool to capture the personal experiences and perceptions of a purposive sample of managerial staff from four IWMDs in the governorate (a provincial-level jurisdiction) of Fayoum, Egypt. The results of the study point to the wide range of definitions of participatory water management held by managers as well as to the diversity of criteria used by managers for decisions regarding farmers' participation in water resources planning and management. The findings highlight commonalities that contribute to an emerging pattern of public decision making in the context of Egyptian water resources administration and indicate the feasibility of developing a modified Effective Decision Making Model (EDM) from an EDM developed for public managers in the United States. Recommendations include a number of measures, including carrying out further research and leadership skills development, to improve the strategic organizational alignment within the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and to contribute to a more effective implementation of Egyptian national water sector reform.