Do Leadership Styles Influence Organizational Health? A Study in Educational Organizations

Mustafa Toprak,Bulent Inandi,Ahmet Levent Colak

doi:10.12973/ijem.1.1.19

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">This research aims to investigate the effect of leadership styles of school principals on organizational health. Causal-comparative research model was used to analyze the relationships between leadership types and organizational health. For data collection, a Likert type Multifactor Leadership scale questionnaire and Organizational Health scale were administered to 151 teachers working primary and secondary schools in Osmaniye city. Data were analyzed by using multiple regression analysis method. Findings of this study indicated significant relationships between school principals' leadership styles and health of schools, that leadership style of school leaders influence organizational health level of a school. Transformational leadership style was also found out to be closely related to a healthy school environment while transactional leadership style is negatively correlated with organizational health. Individual consideration, inspirational motivation, idealized influence, and intellectual stimulation sub-dimensions are found to effective in the formation of organizational health. In the light of the findings, some recommendations were also presented.</p>

Highlights

Some scholars (e.g. Aldoory and Toth, 2004; Meindl, Ehrlich and Dukerich, 1985) challenge the idea that leadership plays a strong role in organizational performance, and that there are false-assumptions regarding the importance of leadership factors to the functioning of groups, scholars such O’Reilly et al (2010) and Yukl (1994) have reached a conclusion that leadership truly matters in an organization and that leaders play an important role in the attainment of organizational goals by creating a climate that would influence employees‘ attitudes, motivation, and behavior
Similar to various other studies (Cemaloglu, 2007; Fliegner, 1984; Korkmaz, 2007; Yildirim, 2006), results of this research show a significant relationship between school principals' leadership styles and the health of the organization
The way a school leader acts during organizational processes could act as an inhibiting or reinforcing factor in the development of organizational health

Summary

Introduction

Some scholars (e.g. Aldoory and Toth, 2004; Meindl, Ehrlich and Dukerich, 1985) challenge the idea that leadership plays a strong role in organizational performance, and that there are false-assumptions regarding the importance of leadership factors to the functioning of groups, scholars such O’Reilly et al (2010) and Yukl (1994) have reached a conclusion that leadership truly matters in an organization and that leaders play an important role in the attainment of organizational goals by creating a climate that would influence employees‘ attitudes, motivation, and behavior. Organizations need to be more flexible in responding to customers’ needs and reacting to competitors’ attempts to undermine their market position (Ograjenšek, 2002). In this “ferocious battle” (Kushwah and Barghaw, 2014:1) where classical leadership approaches do not work well, the survival of any organization is largely dependent on the effectiveness and efficiency of its leaders (Ekuna, 2014). As a workplace concept that has been an issue analyzed psychologically, sociologically, politically and philosophically (Sisman, 2004), leadership is to make people work together for a particular goal, and refers to sum of knowledge and skills in order to achieve this intended goal (Eren, 1998, p.342; Tagraf and Calman, 2009, p.136)

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Conclusion