Leadership Development Research Articles

Navigating values: leadership behaviors for enhancing police organizational identity

PurposeThis study investigates the differential effectiveness of leadership styles within the German Federal Police Office, focusing on how these styles interact with employees' personal values to influence organizational identification (OI). Thus, we investigate the augmentation hypothesis and explore the moderating effects of personal values on leadership effectiveness regarding OI.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing a quantitative cross-sectional design, the study analyzes responses from 1,816 police employees via the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Portraits Value Questionnaire. Hierarchical regressions are used to analyze the hypothesized associations.FindingsThe results indicate that transformational leadership significantly enhances OI more than transactional or laissez-faire leadership. Moderating effects of personal values reveal complex interactions: while transformational leadership consistently predicts higher OI, transactional leadership’s effectiveness varies according to the employees' values such as Conformity and Tradition enhancing OI, Universalism and Benevolence diminishing it. These findings suggest that leadership effectiveness in policing is contingent on aligning leadership style with the personal values of the employees.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the understanding of how personal values modulate the impact of leadership styles on organizational outcomes within police organizations. It underscores the necessity for police leaders to consider the value profiles of their employees to optimize OI and effectiveness. The study is among the first to systematically explore these dynamics within a law enforcement context, providing empirical evidence to inform targeted leadership development and policy-making in policing.

The Influence of Transformational and Instructional Leadership Styles of School’s Principals on Teacher’s Performance, Motivation, Job Satisfaction and Student Achievement in Primary and Secondary Schools

This study aims to examine the influence of transformational and instructional leadership styles of school principals on teacher performance, motivation, job satisfaction, and student achievement in primary and secondary schools. A literature review method was employed, synthesizing qualitative and quantitative studies published between 2019 and 2024. The selected studies focus on the relationship between principal leadership styles and key educational outcomes, with data retrieved from sources in both English and Indonesian. The findings highlight that instructional leadership significantly improves teacher performance and job satisfaction by providing structured support and guidance. Transformational leadership fosters motivation, enhances job satisfaction, and promotes student achievement through inspiration and collaboration. The synergy between these leadership styles enhances educational outcomes, with principals effectively balancing both approaches. This review fills a gap by exploring how transformational and instructional leadership styles interact to influence teachers and students, offering a clearer understanding of their complementary roles in various educational contexts. The study provides valuable insights for educators and policymakers by emphasizing the importance of situational leadership and the need for leadership development programs for school principals. Adopting a hybrid approach to leadership can further enhance teacher performance and student achievement.

Leadership and retention in early childhood education

Global early childhood education workforce shortages have highlighted the importance of recruitment and retention. The development of effective leadership has not been a retention policy focus even though effective leadership has been identified as an important driver for improving working conditions and supporting educator retention. The aim of this research was to investigate what factors affect retention focussing on retention challenges for leaders in an under researched context. Participants were 34 early childhood educators in the Northern Territory of Australia. A constructivist grounded theory methodology framed the research and the data analysis, and a constant comparative method was used to generate categories. The lack of learning on leadership, coupled with competing priorities, were identified as critical factors that contribute to increased attrition. However, informal mentoring was found to support both the positional and emerging leaders, increasing the probability of their retention regardless of their access to leadership development.

The followership paradox: The undervalued power of effective followers in early childhood education

Educators working in early childhood education play a critical role in enhancing outcomes for children and families through active leadership. However, there are persistent paradoxical perceptions regarding the practical implementation of followership alongside leadership. This article addresses this followership paradox, as a key finding drawn from a larger doctoral study that explored followership practices in Australian early childhood education settings. By examining educators’ understandings of followership through the lens of established followership theories, and employing multi-site ethnography and reflexive thematic analysis, contradictory understandings were unearthed. Despite observing educators enacting effective followership behaviours, participants predominantly hold negative connotations associated with the role. These findings highlight the urgent need to acknowledge and appreciate the role of followers and their impact in co-creating quality workplace outcomes in early education settings. The article argues for integrating followership training alongside leadership development to foster more cohesive early childhood environments.

How People With Lived Experiences of Homelessness and Sex Trades Become Social Service Leaders in Sex Trafficking, Sex Trading, and Youth Organizations: A Community-Engaged Study.

Organizations that work with people who trade sex for compensation (including sex work and trafficking) and who are homeless employ lived experience experts to enhance the relevance and utility of services. We sought to understand how lived experience experts become social service leaders and the conditions that influence their pathways and well-being. Influenced by anti-capitalism and anti-white-supremacy, we used an intersectional, community-engaged, constructivist grounded theory approach to conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 26 adults with lived experiences who were currently employed in an organizational leadership role. Participants were ages 22-43; 50% people of color; 26% trans and gender expansive; and 62% queer. We found that lived experience experts were mostly situated either within an individualist or collectivist organizational context. Participants in the individualist context typically began their trajectories through storytelling, which contrasted with those in the collectivist context who began by organizing around a cause or policy. A cycle of internal and external validation (e.g., mentor affirmation and increased self-worth) and invalidation (e.g., insufficient pay; exploitation of their stories; and identity-based exclusion) resulted. Emerging conflicts were perceived and addressed differently depending on participants' contexts, with some additional barriers for those advocating for sex work decriminalization. Findings suggest that there may be insufficient funding structures, mentorship, and leadership development practices and policies to support lived experience experts. Left unaddressed, lived experience experts, especially those who are multiply minoritized, may transition to other roles and/or out of advocacy movements. Anti-capitalist practice, policy, and research implications that counteract harms and support employees' mental health are discussed.

Management and Planning Strategy in Public Universities of Rivers States, Nigeria: Self-leadership for Performance

This study examined the role of self-leadership as a strategic tool for enhancing management and planning in public universities, focusing on institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria. The research is driven by the need to address persistent challenges in university management, such as inadequate strategic planning, inefficient resource allocation, and leadership deficiencies. The study employed a descriptive survey design to investigate self-leadership as a management and planning strategy for enhanced public universities in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study targeted all the leadership personnel and staff across public institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of senior leadership personnel like deans, head of departments, directors, and senior supervisors within public universities who are responsible for making decisions, setting policies, and leading teams. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample size from staff in public universities in Rivers State. Data were collected using the researchers designed questionnaire titled “Self-Leadership as a Management and Planning Strategy Questionnaire (SLMPSQ)”, which comprised 20 items. The instrument's reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha, which yielded a reliability index of .819. Descriptive statistics (percentages, mean, and standard deviation) were employed to analyze respondents’ answers to the research questions. Hypotheses were tested using One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of p < .05. The findings indicated that self-leadership as a management and planning strategy of institutional leaders do not significantly contribute to the effectiveness of public universities in Nigeria. The study concluded that factors that foster self-leadership as a management and planning strategy in Nigerian public universities is crucial for enhanced responsibility, and their overall effectiveness. Among its recommendations is the urgent development and implementation of structured leadership development programs tailored to the needs of Nigeria's public universities, which emphasize principles such as responsibility, self-reflection, building resilience, and positive self-talk leadership.

Leadership Development in Women STEM Students: The Interplay of Task Behaviors, Self-Efficacy, and University Training

This study explores the relationship between task-oriented behaviors, self-efficacy, and leadership emergence in women STEM students, grounded in the context of prototypical leadership theory and self-efficacy theory. Prototypical leadership theory emphasizes the alignment of leadership behaviors with group expectations, which, in STEM fields, are often task-oriented. The research examines how task-oriented behaviors, such as planning, decision-making, and supervision, influence women’s self-perception of leadership ability and their subsequent emergence as leaders. Our results show a positive relationship between task-oriented behaviors and self-efficacy and a positive relationship between self-efficacy with leader emergence, with academic experience further ngthening this link. As students’ progress through their programs, engaging in more teamwork and leadership tasks, their self-efficacy enhances, leading to stronger leadership emergence. Also, we found an indirect effect from task-oriented behavior to leader emergence via self-efficacy. These findings have significant implications for fostering leadership in women, particularly in STEM. The study calls for educational programs to enhance opportunities for women to develop these behaviors early on, ensuring their growth into leadership roles in STEM fields.

The Current State of Leadership Research: Identifying Key Trends through Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Analysis

The impact of leadership on organizational performance and success is a well-established theme, leading to a significant expansion in related scientific studies. This has made identifying and understanding the current state of literature challenging. Most studies focus on specific aspects of leadership, offering a fragmented view of the field. This study employs Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and a machine learning approach to analyze 19,429 research papers from Web of Science and Scopus. We aimed to identify and interpret current trends in leadership research, providing a comprehensive overview of the leadership domain, highlighting five key research trends: (1) Leadership and Digital Transformation Research (LDTR); (2) Leadership and Organizational Performance Research (LOPR); (3) Educational Leadership Research (ELR); (4) Leadership Practices and Development Research (LPDR); and (5) Gender and Diversity Leadership Research (GDLR). This overview not only delineates current trends but also aids researchers in identifying significant gaps in existing literature, thereby facilitating the development of innovative research projects and initiatives.

Innovation through the implementation of technology in the context of school education: a systematic review

While the central role that technology currently plays in the different domains of society is acknowledged, it is pressing to understand how it also affects the compulsory education setting. The increasing technological richness of the world influences everyday life and brings about higher expectations for schools to take a lead in shaping competent citizens for the twenty-first century. The aim of this article is to advance knowledge of how innovation is taking place in schools when it admits the implementation of technology as a fundamental dimension. This review draws on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and covers the period 2017–22 to identify 30 studies for inclusion. The analyses suggest that innovative practices are highly diverse in nature and that they target different disciplines and levels of compulsory education. Innovation is sensitive to place, historicity and time. It is often delayed by infrastructure issues (first-order barriers) and beliefs (second-order barriers), while among its key drivers are leadership, support networks and professional development.

Exploring the Contents of Leader Identity Development Across Life Domains

The way an individual self-identifies as a leader (leader identity) is a critical component of the leader development process (Day and Harrison, 2007). Since this recognition, the field has experienced increased attention (Epitropaki et al., 2017). In this way, the development of a leader identity naturally becomes a topic of importance given that organizations are interested in more effective leaders, considering the 60 billion dollars spent on leadership development programs by global organizations every year (Future Market Insights, 2024). However, despite some recent advances in understanding leader identity development, the discussion is often limited to a single life domain, most commonly work (Lanka et al., 2020) when leadership is understood to transcend a formal role or context (DeRue, Ashford and Cotton, 2009). The present investigation draws on theory of leader development across life domains (Hammond, Clapp-Smith and Palanski, 2017) to explore factors that promote and hamper self-identification as a leader. Through a thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006), 25 in-depth interviews focused on three different life arenas revealed four factors promoting leader identity development: being conceded responsibility, taking initiative, having an expanded understanding of leadership, and having a sense of purpose. Additionally, two factors served as obstacles: a feeling of incapacity, and self-focus. Implications for practice and theory are discussed. Specifically, the section distinguishes between internally- and externally-driven leader identity, how leader identity can be developed before and during the course of a research interview, and the role of purpose. On the obstacles side, the findings are firstly linked to the impact of leadership stereotypes (Epitropaki and Martin, 2004). Also, foundational works such as social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1986) and job demands-resources theory (Bakker, Demerouti and Sanz-Vergel, 2014) are incorporated in terms of how they may justify obstruction of positive change in leader identity.

Entrepreneurial Leadership Development in the Digital Age

During the second half of the 21st century, academia has presented different studies to conceptualize entrepreneurial leadership without academic consensus.Although leadership and entrepreneurship are distinct, the literature has come to understand their similarities (Harrison et al., 2020). Despite the large number of publications, the characteristics of a leader should be based on an entrepreneurial profile, mainly to gain competitive differentiation for companies through the productivity of their human capital (Addy et al., 2024). Over the last century, the business world has undergone several transformations intrinsically linked to innovations and developments in Information and Communication Technologies. Over the last few decades, the installed business park has changed in computerization and automation, making it necessary to equip human resources with ICT-related tools and knowledge. This and several generations cooperating in companies have brought new challenges to leadership (Figueiredo and Joaquim, 2023). However, in contemporary times, the business sector has to acknowledge the challenges inherent in meeting ESG indicators to respond to the SDGs, forcing leaders to equip themselves with entrepreneurial skills to involve, motivate, and create strategies for promoting innovation and retaining talent (Addy et al., 2024). According to Omeihe et al. (2023), “the role of entrepreneurial leadership in enhancing positive business outcomes” (2023, p. 1), but the authors also acknowledge that leaders should embrace several attributes and skills to implement this new leadership perspective. The entrepreneur concept has gained new topics to discuss and internalize, including ICT and the sustainable domains paradigms regarding the ESG indicators and the SDG goals. This article aims to understand the challenges and competencies needed to conceptualize entrepreneurial leadership by critically reviewing the existing literature and linking it to the inherent needs of ESG and SDG goals; it seems to be the only way to understand and internalize the processes and procedures involved in entrepreneurial leadership in the digital age.

Governance and Leadership in Enhancing SME Resilience in Ghana: A Systematic Literature Review

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are especially susceptible to pandemics. Consequently, resilience and adaptability to shocks from pandemics like COVID-19 are crucial. Nonetheless, although SMEs have strategies to cope with these, there is still a dearth of research on the nature and effectiveness of these coping strategies. Thus, it remains unclear how leadership and governance frameworks reduce SMEs’ vulnerability and increase their resilience to pandemic risk. This academic article provides a systematic literature review on the role of governance and leadership in enhancing the resilience of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. The review explores existing literature on SME resilience, environmental uncertainty, and the impact of governance frameworks. The article also focuses on how leadership practices in the Ghanaian context contribute to building SME resilience in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analysis revealed that there are opportunities for SMEs to adopt better governance and leadership practices that foster long-term resilience. Governance practices, such as formal structures, board diversity, and leadership, enable SMEs to respond to crises and navigate challenging situations. Moreover, leadership styles that prioritize governance procedures, especially transformational leadership, empower SMEs to maintain agility and innovation, thereby securing their survival and growth in a rapidly evolving environment. The review highlights the need for stronger governance frameworks and leadership development programs that equip SME owner-managers with the tools to navigate environmental uncertainties.

Optimising school leadership development for 21st-century learning: An in-depth analysis of South African private secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal

There have been significant and rapid improvements in information and communication technology (ICT) since the early 1990s. Subsequent global changes have increased with the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and have dictated pedagogical transformation. Many countries have moved from traditional approaches of education to 21st-century Learning (21CL). 21CL is ICT-aligned, inquiry-based, and includes the development of affective abilities. School leadership influences all structures and individuals directly in a school. It has the potential to be one of the cornerstones of the paradigm shift to 21CL. I investigated how school leadership is developed to facilitate 21CL and how it can be improved. I required quantitative and qualitative data to achieve the research objectives. Therefore, I adopted a mixed methods research approach that is underpinned by the positivist and interpretivist paradigms. I used a case study design. The data collection methods I employed were questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus group interviews. Phase one of the research involved the quantitative data collection from twenty-five schools, of which five schools were purposely sampled for the second qualitative phase. The use of transformational leadership, strategic leadership, system leadership, and ecological leadership in enacting 21CL featured prominently in the reviewed literature. However, the research findings show that, largely, these four leadership theories were not incorporated in leadership development in South Africa. The results also show that school leadership development specifically designed for 21CL, was limited. The leadership training that is available focused more on administrative tasks instead of on leadership theories and skills to facilitate 21CL. I recommend that further research be conducted in both private and public schools in other South African provinces.

Relationships between leadership style, career development, work stress, and turnover intention in a high-tech industry: Moderating role of psychological contract

Employee turnover is an unavoidable part of business development, costing important human resources and impeding long-term growth and strategy implementation. To maintain a steady workforce, businesses must prioritize understanding and addressing this issue. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of leadership style, career development, and work stress on turnover intention in the high-tech industry and to investigate the moderating role of psychological contracts in these relationships. The sample consists of 380 employees of the R&D departments in high-tech companies in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, mainly engaged in the electronic information, advanced manufacturing, and automation sectors. The data were gathered via an online questionnaire, and the Smart-PLS approach was used to analyze the data. The empirical findings indicate that transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and career development are significantly and negatively related to turnover intention, whereas work stress has a significant positive effect. The psychological contract moderates the relationship between career development and turnover intention; the higher the psychological contract, the stronger the relationship. In addition, the psychological contract moderates the relationship between work stress and turnover intention, whereby the higher the psychological contract, the weaker the relationship. However, no empirical evidence suggests that the psychological contract moderates the relationship between leadership styles and turnover intention. The R² value is 0.485, indicating moderate explanatory power, and with a GOF index of 0.492, the model also demonstrates a good fit with the data. This study offers considerable implications for both theoretical and practical applications.

TRENDS AND INSIGHTS IN VISIONARY LEADERSHIP: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS FROM 2019 TO 2023

The study of visionary leadership has become increasingly significant as organizations navigate complex and evolving challenges. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of scholarly publications on visionary leadership from 2019 to 2023, sourced from the Scopus database. The analysis reveals trends in publication output, identifies influential research contributions, and maps the thematic development of the field. Key findings highlight an increase in scholarly interest, with dominant themes including strategic vision, leadership competencies, and organizational change. Despite the wealth of research, gaps remain in empirical validation across diverse contexts, longitudinal studies, interdisciplinary approaches, and practical applications. The study underscores the need for more comprehensive research that bridges theoretical and practical insights, enhances cultural and global perspectives, and develops quantitative tools for assessing visionary leadership. By addressing these research gaps, the field can advance towards a deeper, more applicable understanding that supports both academic progress and practical leadership development. This paper serves as a foundational reference for scholars and practitioners, outlining current knowledge and future research directions.

From Fivefold to Five-in-One Ministry: Mega-Ecclesiological Leadership (Dis)Continuities in Southern Africa

In Southern Africa in recent years, the governance and ecclesiologies of mega-Pentecostal churches have been drifting away from upholding collective and complementary fivefold ministries to individualistic and selfish five-in-one ministries. Studies indicate that a fivefold ministry advances inclusive ecclesiological leadership, edification, and transformational integral mission. At present, mega and related forms of emerging neo-Pentecostalism have developed exclusive, prophetic, apostolic, and executive ecclesial leadership, which are characterized mainly by authoritarian governance, celebrity leadership, leader-centered ecclesiology, and congregational manipulation and exploitation. Such church governance and ecclesiologies enable leaders to indoctrinate their subordinates and congregants to submit to and depend on them for everything. The effect is that followers are rendered dormant, under what this submission describes as five-in-one ministry, which leaves one person claiming to possess all ministerial gifts and leadership capabilities and relegating everyone else to being idle followers. Although much has been published about African Pentecostal leadership and ecclesiologies, studies on African megachurch governance, leadership styles and ministries are few. Through a literature review and participant observation, this paper uncovers and troubleshoots the effects of five-in-one megachurch governance and ecclesiologies in Africa. It discerns and addresses drivers of the five-in-one ministry and makes recommendations, such as reforming megachurch governance, leadership styles, and ecclesiologies; integrating ecumenism with leadership development; and developing inclusive economic sustainability.

Leadership & professional development: Strategies to disagree productively: Persuasive DISNT.

Leadership & professional development: Strategies to disagree productively: Persuasive DISNT.

‘The Charismulator’ – charisma simulator: A study of a new VR intervention to improve charisma

Abstract Charisma, often seen as an innate trait, is now understood as leader signaling grounded in values, symbols, and emotions, suggesting it can be developed through interventions. However, the method for cultivating charisma remains unclear. This study examines nonverbal communication strategies, highlighting the potential of body language, facial expressions, and vocal modulation to enhance charisma. Additionally, we introduce a virtual reality training program focused on these cues and explore the role of audience presence in boosting the intervention’s effectiveness by fostering self-awareness and behavioral adjustments. Results of a controlled randomized experiment with virtual reality-trained participants and online charisma assessors demonstrated significant improvements in observer-rated charisma from pre- to post-training compared to the control group. Moreover, training in front of a virtual audience yielded the expected outcomes. This study sheds light on charisma theory, its potential virtual reality training application, and its implications for leadership development.

Unveiling the nature of peer development groups: A systematic review, conceptual framework, and research pathways

SummaryThis research provides a systematic review of the literature on peer development groups (PDGs), a promising yet underexplored tool for individual and leadership development. Despite the growing interest in PDGs from both scholars and practitioners, the field remains fragmented, with inconsistent terminologies and limited theoretical grounding. This review seeks to clarify the core components, boundary conditions, inputs, processes, and outcomes of effective PDGs in professional settings, addressing the confusion and gaps in existing research. By adopting an adjudication approach, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the evidence regarding the defining characteristics of PDGs and their impacts on individual development. We propose a new, scholarly definition of PDGs as organized small groups consisting of members of perceived similar status and roles who regularly meet to foster mutual growth by providing a supportive environment and a flexible agenda. We develop a conceptual framework that links key variables influencing PDG effectiveness and offers actionable insights for both researchers and practitioners. Our findings highlight opportunities for future research and suggest practical implications for implementing PDGs in organizational settings, ultimately contributing to a more cohesive and theoretically informed understanding of this valuable developmental practice.

Resistance Capital as a Cultural Asset That Supports Latina Leadership Development & Address Environmental Leadership Challenges in K-12 Schools

ABSTRACT This study delves into the leadership experiences of Latinx women in their professional work contexts who serve as K-12 school principals in public schools located in New Jersey. It accentuates the obstacles faced by these Latina administrators in their roles as school principals to deconstruct negative perceptions and biases toward Latina principals rooted in social identity stereotypes of gender and ethnicity. The study’s findings reveal how their leadership challenges have empowered them to confront microaggressions from intersecting social identity stereotypes related to gender and ethnicity. The primary objective of the research is to dispel misconceptions about Latina school principals and advocate for inclusive leadership practices. The findings indicate that the sustained career success of the Latina school principals in this study was driven by resistant capital (CCW, Yosso & Yosso, 2005; Yosso & Escobedo, 2022), a form of cultural asset that presents an alternative narrative about Latina educational leaders. This study underscores the significance of recruiting and retaining Latina school principals in urban districts and proposes a framework for preparing Latina leaders from K-12 through college.