Leadership Research Articles

Flexible Leadership: Bridging Gender Dynamics and Enhancing Enterprise Performance

This study investigates the impact of flexible leadership on enterprise performance. It aims to examine the moderating roles of gender, enterprise size, and power distance, contributing to leadership theory and practice in non-Western contexts. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative data from 218 structured questionnaires with qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses related to flexible leadership, organizational performance, and contextual moderators. The results confirm that flexible leadership positively influences both organizational and employee performance. Gender moderates this relationship, with female entrepreneurs leveraging flexible leadership to achieve higher performance outcomes despite systemic barriers. Enterprise size and power distance significantly influence the effectiveness of flexible leadership, highlighting the need for context-sensitive strategies.

How Can Regional Collaborative Governance Promote Public Value Through Relational Leadership? Grounded Research Based on Inter-Provincial Collaboration Between Guangdong, Hunan, and Guangxi in China

Studies on regional collaborative governance based on China's institutional context are abundant, but the leadership perspective behind regional collaborative governance has rarely been discussed in previous studies. Based on a review of relational leadership theory, this study adopts the grounded theory methodology to study the three cities bordering Guangdong, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces, condensing the components of relational leadership in regional collaborative governance and the general explanatory framework. The research found that relational leadership in regional collaborative governance is composed of mission-driven, social capital, governance resources, trust shaping, common learning, interaction mechanisms, and public value. Among them, mission-driven is the motivation, social capital and governance resources are the basic conditions, trust shaping and common learning are actions, the interaction mechanism is the carrier, and public value creation is the goal. At present, the main problem of regional collaborative governance is that the governance mechanism is "built but not run.” It is necessary to build an effective network governance system through the relational leadership of leaders, improve the overall public leadership of regional governance, and promote a governance system to operate more effectively. This research not only explores the dynamic leadership process of regional collaborative governance, but also enriches the micro perspective of regional collaborative governance research, expands the theoretical space of collaborative leadership, makes up the "leadership deficit" in the field of regional collaborative governance, and has reference significance and practical enlightenment for further promoting the performance of collaborative governance in the cross-region context.

Leveraging Substitute Teachers as Educational Leaders

This autoethnographic study explores the lived experiences of an advanced-degree holder and educator with expertise in leadership and education policy who worked as a substitute teacher in the Clark County School District. Despite my qualifications, I often felt underutilized and disconnected, revealing systemic barriers within the educational system. Using distributed leadership theory, I examine these challenges and uncover the untapped leadership potential of substitutes to make meaningful contributions to P-12 education. This study proposes actionable solutions, including substitute profile systems, comprehensive onboarding programs, and structured mentorship initiatives. The findings highlight the importance of shared leadership in fostering equity, professional growth, and workforce stability, offering practical insights into how substitutes can transition from temporary roles to integral contributors within educational systems.

Leading by example: Experimental evidence that therapist lived experience disclosures can model the path to recovery for clients.

A common guideline for self-disclosure is that therapists should only share recovered personal experiences with clients (i.e., no longer distressing). However, theoretical rationale and empirical support for this claim is limited. Drawing on identity leadership theorizing, we investigated whether recovery disclosures are beneficial to the extent that they signal a therapist's aspirational prototypicality (i.e., embodiment of an aspirational identity for clients). Across two experimental studies (N = 545), we recruited clients, therapists and general population adults. Participants read a group therapy for depression vignette in which the therapist disclosed: nothing, professional experience with depression, current depression, recovered depression or recovered anxiety. Participants rated the prototypicality of the therapist, the extent to which they perceived the therapist positively, the therapist's expertness and the expected prognosis for therapy. Contrary to our hypotheses, the type of disclosure did not significantly affect positive perceptions, expertness or expected prognosis ratings. However, the therapist disclosing a recovered and relevant condition (recovered depression) was rated as significantly more aspirationally prototypical than the other therapists. Given prior evidence that group therapists are more effective when viewed as aspirationally prototypical, our findings suggest that recovery disclosures may represent one way therapists can signal their prototypicality and enhance their effectiveness.

Contextual Factors and Their Impact on Ethical Leadership in Educational Settings

This discussion paper focuses on the notion of context and its variables and explores how context influences the attempt to practice ethical leadership in educational settings. Three major research questions underline this paper: a. What is the importance of context in the leadership research and what are the contextual factors affecting different notions of ethics, values, their degree of significance, and the way they affect attitudes and behaviors? b. To what extend do educational systems and/or communities share the same notional background about ethics, values, and ethical leadership? c. Can that which is researched and discussed in ethical leadership theory be successfully and effectively transferred into everyday school practice? Our investigation leads us to support the assumption that contextual factors should be included in (ethical) leadership research and the notion of vision and its interaction with the notions of mission and goals should be revisited in a more humanistic rather than managerial way if we wish to run ethical schools and transform them into ethical learning nests to nurture and develop new generations.

Navigating the COVID-19 crisis: astudy of healthcare leadership response in India and the USA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited the debate on effective leadership during a crisis. The study examined healthcare leaders' experiences, challenges and responses amid the COVID-19 crisis in India and the USA. Thematic analysis culminated in developing a thematic framework that encapsulates the behavior of operational healthcare leaders in India and the USA to illustrate how they responded to the global pandemic. Twelve hospital leadership experiences were collected through in-depth Interviews. The study highlighted comparable experiences and leadership responses from the USA and India. Thematic framework induced from three themes and eight sub-themes to illustrate how leaders handled unknown challenges of the pandemic, which they countered with increased accountability as a leader, extended need-based networking with inevitable experience of self-role distance, leading to their pragmatic approach and reinforcement of self-belief. The study findings provide a way forward for revisiting existing crisis management frameworks and cross-cultural leadership theories in terms of behavioral aspects integration with the technical or operational aspects of crisis management. Healthcare leaders aiming to rebuild hospital systems would benefit from the study by incorporating identified skills such as coping with emotional labor, self-role distance, perseverance, pragmatic approach, networking with extended stakeholders, and extra-role behaviors into training and mentoring programs. Using a thematic analysis approach, the study's two-country research design identified a homogeneous leadership response despite a distinct countrywide context.

Promoting Positive Leadership: Examining the Long-Term Dynamics of Anti-Bullying Programs.

Anti-bullying programs can create more positive classroom environments by fostering the development of positive leaders who establish constructive norms. The social identity theory of leadership addresses stability and change within different leader profiles and identifies leader group prototypicality: the extent to which leaders are perceived to embody the group identity, including standards, values, and norms. This study focuses on two key areas: (1) examining stability and change within positive and negative leader profiles, and (2) comparing transition probabilities between the KiVa anti-bullying intervention condition and a control condition. A sample of 6,629 children (2057 in the control condition and 4572 in the intervention condition) were followed from age 9 to age 11 in three waves of data collection. At each wave, latent profile analysis was used to identify two distinct leader profiles and three non-leader profiles based on peer nominations that included leadership, popularity, and both positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior. These profiles included (a) positive leaders, (b) negative leaders, (c) defenders, (d) bullies, and (e) modal children. Latent transition analysis for the full sample revealed more changing roles for negative leaders compared with positive leaders. In the intervention condition, negative leaders were more likely to make the transition to positive leaders than to bullies. This study shows that, in late childhood, positive leaders are perceived as more representative of the group leader prototypicality than negative leaders. These findings enhance understanding of leader profile evolution and may inform tailored leadership interventions.

The Impact of Presidential Elections on Organizational Leadership in Business Environments

This essay delves into the impact of U.S. presidential elections on organizational leadership within the business sector. By scrutinizing shifts in economic policy, regulatory practices, market expectations, and leadership behavior, this work evaluates how these elections shape the strategic and operational decisions of corporate leaders. The study integrates various theories of leadership and organizational behavior, alongside recent case studies, to demonstrate how different election outcomes influence corporate governance and the broader market landscape. Ultimately, it highlights the intricate relationship between political events and business leadership, offering insights into the adaptive strategies employed by corporate leaders in response to electoral changes.

THE HIDDEN DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION: INCLUSIVE VS AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP WITH MEDIATING INFLUENCE OF TRUST

This study investigates the impact of inclusive & autocratic leadership styles on employees’ job satisfaction in manufacturing organizations, focusing on mediating role of organizational trust. Leadership significantly influences employees' attitudes, motivation, and overall performance, yet the interplay between leadership styles, organizational trust, and job satisfaction remains underexplored in the manufacturing sector. Drawing on leadership and organizational behavior theories, this research examines that how inclusive leadership fosters trust & boosts job satisfaction, while autocratic leadership may undermine trust, negatively affecting satisfaction. A quantitative survey design was employed, collecting data from 300 employees across diverse manufacturing firms. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test hypothesized relationships. Results reveal that inclusive leadership positively correlates with job satisfaction, mediated by organizational trust thereby highlighting trust as critical mechanism linking leadership and satisfaction. Conversely, the autocratic leadership exhibits a negative relationship with organizational trust and job satisfaction. Therefore, results are important in highlighting the importance of creating enabling, and inclusive leadership styles to direct the trust as well as ensure better employee outcomes in the manufacturing settings.

The role of masculine and feminine gender enactment in hospitality leadership

Purpose The stereotypical assumptions of what it means to be hegemonically masculine and to be a leader are aligned in current society, potentially creating role incongruity for anyone who does not fit into this definition. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether masculine and feminine leadership traits of men and women hospitality managers affect employees’ intention to trust leaders and organizational attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach Explanatory mixed methods were used. First, two experiments (Study 1 = woman manager, n = 137; Study 2 = man manager, n = 117) were conducted with current hospitality employees to test the interaction of masculine versus feminine enactment and the leadership gender composition (3%, 23% or 53% women) on organizational attractiveness and intent to trust the leader. Results did not align with the theories; therefore, three focus groups were held with 13 current hospitality employees. Findings Results indicate a shift toward the preference for communal (feminine) characteristics in hospitality leadership with a balance of masculine traits. Research limitations/implications The influence of managers’ gender-related behaviors on trust and organizational attractiveness goes beyond their physical gender traits, indicating that gender plays a more crucial role than previously understood. Originality/value By using role congruity theory and hegemonic masculinity, this study offers a nuanced understanding of masculine and feminine gender enactment and broadens leadership theory by including the perspectives of nonhegemonic men and assertive women.

A Look at the Transformational Leadership and Strategic Communication towards Madani Ummah

Malaysia Madani, a political slogan termed by the current premiership, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on January 19th, 2023, who wish to promote the six core values of socio-economic-politics concerns: Sustainability, Prosperity, Innovation, Respect, Trust, and Care and Compassion, hence will ultimately produce Madani Ummah or Madani Society. Today, in a multi-religion country like Malaysia, the concept of Madani has been re-popularised in the political stage with the ultimate purpose of creating a good-will living, civilized in which various human rights are fulfilled, appreciated, and respected in life both for the Muslims and Non-Muslims. Towards achieving these objectives, the roles of strategic communicator as liaison between the government and its citizens are crucial. This paper aims to understand the roles of strategic communicator in propagating the concept of Madani and to materialise the establishment of Madani Ummah. This paper has also utilised the Transformational Leadership theory as the base of theoretical framework of research which suggest that effective leaders can bring major changes to the organisation they lead and motivate the subordinate to support the vision, and in this context refer to the government of Malaysia. This conceptual paper employs literature review through secondary material as the methodology. This study revealed that the strategic communication is a very important stepping stone for any governmental effort particularly in educating the citizens on the public policies and governmental planning. This study also highlighted the significant roles strategic communicator plays for instance the leadership through example, inclusive communication plan and being optimistic, as well as the involvement of every layer of the Malaysian citizens, not only to know, understand, but also support the mission planned by the leading team of the day for a long-term accomplishment. Apparently, the afore-mentioned theory explains well on the important elements needed for any organisational setting to make positive changes.

Transformational Leadership Strategies in Public Elementary Schools in Koronadal City: A Comprehensive Analysis of Leadership Dimensions

This research assesses the transformational leadership strategies of school leaders in public elementary schools in Koronadal City, Philippines. Rooted in Bass and Avolio's Transformational Leadership Theory, it handles four essential dimensions: idealized influence, inspiring motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The study targets gaps in understanding transformative leadership techniques in underrepresented and resource-constrained contexts, notably in Koronadal City’s school system. Employing a descriptive research approach, the study obtained data via a validated five-point Likert-scale survey given to 15 school leaders. A statistical analysis found that leaders successfully offered ethical role modeling and inspirational motivation, building employee trust and excitement. However, constraints were noted in producing attractive ideas and satisfying particular staff demands, stressing issues related to restricted resources and professional growth opportunities. These results correspond with worldwide studies underscoring the advantages of transformational leadership but emphasized the inherent limits of under-resourced conditions, such as resistance to change and lack of support networks. The research underlines the significance of specialized training programs, increased resource allocation, and context-sensitive leadership actions. Future research should embrace longitudinal designs and examine the integration of digital technologies to foster transformative methodologies. This research adds to the expanding body of evidence on transformational leadership, underscoring its important role in promoting creativity, cooperation, and improved educational achievement in resource-limited situations.

Qualities of papers we like: An editorial perspective

In this edition of Culture, Education, and Future, I think I can helpfully discuss the qualities we, the editors, seek in a paper. This discussion develops ideas that are not necessarily covered in author guidelines (see the CEF webpage); instead, these ideas reflect our preferences for the journal and the qualities that attract our attention. This editorial's audience is broad: It speaks to authors, reviewers, editors, and even those wanting to learn more about the dynamics of journal editors' decision-making. The first quality we seek is CEF preference papers that are theoretically or conceptually current. I am not referring only to its applicability to today’s administrators or teachers—although that is important as well—rather, this refers to papers that are responsive to current theoretical trends and movements. In 2001, Hunt and Dodge wrote a piece for The Leadership Quarterly in which they argued that had they gone to sleep 20 years earlier and just awakened, they would have found that leadership theory had not changed in the intervening years. This was a clear call for a new perspective on leadership. Hunt’s voice was quite influential, and others were making similar grumblings. Anyone with their “ear to the ground” would have realized that the theoretical wind was shifting. What evolved was a set of perspectives that described leadership as a collective rather than an individual activity. Like Hunt, we, the CEF editors, are looking for a scholarship that is aware of trends and aware of where the pressure points are in current thought. Second, to accomplish the first preference, we look for scholarship that demonstrates genuine expertise in the subjects developed in the paper. Of the many submissions I have read over the years, I find a depressing number that were obviously written by authors who exhibit a lack of mastery of the material they are discussing. They misinterpret or misapply ideas; they have not explored the weaknesses in the current literature on their subject, or they are not sufficiently mature in the subject to spot those weaknesses. For example, the literature on relationships between leaders and followers has been criticized for being ineffectively defined (i.e., it fails to clarify whether measures are defined as the perceptions of followers or as the differences in perceptions by leaders and followers; Gottfredson et al., 2020). Other submission authors may misunderstand incompatibilities between epistemologies, as when they use statistics (which assumes independencies among cases and stability across time) to evaluate a phenomenon that is clearly interdependent and changing; for more, see Cilliers, 1998).

Sustainable leadership and work behavior in hotel businesses: The influence of perceived environmental corporate social responsibility

Despite the growing emphasis on sustainability in the hospitality industry, there is a notable gap in understanding how sustainable leadership influences employee work behavior, particularly through the lens of perceived environmental corporate social responsibility (PECSR), an area that has yet to be fully explored in the context of hotel businesses. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of sustainable leadership on sustainable work behavior among employees in hotel businesses with a particular focus on perceived environmental corporate social responsibility as a mediator. This study focuses on full-time employees working in five-star hotels in Egypt, with a total of 352 valid responses collected. The data were analyzed using WarpPLS software, a user-friendly tool for the PLS-SEM approach adopted. The findings indicate that sustainable leadership has a positive impact on employees' sustainable work behavior and their perceptions of environmental corporate social responsibility. Additionally, the study shows that PECSR not only positively influences employees' sustainable work behavior but also serves as a mediator in the relationship between sustainable leadership and sustainable work behavior. This study contributes to sustainability and leadership literature in the hospitality industry. It demonstrates that sustainable leadership’s impact on employee behavior is partially mediated by employees’ perceptions of their organization’s environmental responsibility, enriching leadership theories with insights from corporate social responsibility and organizational behavior. Practically, the research offers hotel managers actionable insights on integrating sustainability into leadership practices, emphasizing the importance of transparent communication about CSR initiatives, leadership training, and aligning sustainability with organizational strategies to enhance employee engagement and foster sustainable work behavior.

Construction and Validation of a Secure-base Leadership Model in Educational Organizations: A Mixed-methods Exploratory Study

There is no doubt about the importance of leadership and attachment styles on individual behavior and organizational outcomes. However, researchers have neglected to apply and integrate attachment concepts in management and organizational studies for years. One of the basic concepts in attachment theory is the secure base. In 2010, Coombe considered the application of this concept in leadership, which resulted in representing the theory of secure base leadership. The present study aimed at constructing and validating a secure base leadership model. The research method is a mixed exploratory method composed of qualitative and quantitative measures including thematic analysis and survey, respectively. The participants of the qualitative section were 14 faculty members, specialists, and experts in the field of educational management and psychology selected using the purposive sampling method and snowball technique. Besides, the participants of the quantitative part included 441 administrative staff and teachers in Tehran were by cluster sampling. Open, axial, and selective coding was used to analyze interview data in the former part, while in the latter, structural equations were used. The results of the qualitative analysis indicated that secure base leadership includes three main aspects, namely security (accepting people (acceptance), support, providing security, mutual trust, independence, fairness, staying calm (controlling and adjusting emotions)), exploration (risk-taking, increasing individual capacities, being responsive and sensible, intellectual stimulation), and deep intellectual bond (positive attitude, high emotional capacity, transparency in relationships, compatibility, being a good listener). Also, the quantitative part of the research results showed validity and reliability as well as a good fit of the proposed model.

Iklim Komunikasi Organisasi dalam menumbuhkan Kinerja Guru Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Jakarta Barat

This study explains the organizational communication climate in fostering the performance of Madrasah Aliyah Negeri West Jakarta teachers. This descriptive qualitative research uses the paradigm of post positivism. Data was obtained through interviews with 17 informants from 2 schools, 9 from MAN 10, 8 from MAN 12, namely 2 principals, 10 teachers, and 5 students. The Situational Leadership Theory used in this study is supported by the concepts of organization, communication climate and performance. The results of the study show that the organizational communication climate in MAN 10 and MAN 12 West Jakarta is conducive and positive. It is recommended that there be leadership training, encourage openness, collaboration in decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. In overcoming obstacles, it is necessary to have good communication with openness.

Kepemimpinan Transformasional Untuk Kepala Sekolah Indonesia: Konsep Dan Pengukurannya

This study explores the application and significance of transformational leadership among school principals in Indonesia. Transformational leadership is considered a pivotal approach for improving the role of principals in driving positive change within educational institutions, impacting teachers, students, and the entire school community. Drawing on transformational leadership theories by Bass and Avolio (2003), the Principal Leadership Questionnaire (PLQ) is adapted specifically for the Indonesian context, measuring dimensions such as Professional Interaction, Participative Decision-Making, Individual Support, Intellectual Stimulation, and Moral Perspective. This instrument has undergone rigorous validation and reliability testing, confirming its suitability for evaluating teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership effectiveness in Indonesian schools. The study highlights the relevance of transformational leadership in addressing challenges unique to Indonesia's educational landscape, including resource limitations and geographic disparities. It concludes by emphasizing the need for principals to adopt transformational leadership to foster a collaborative school climate and calls for further research on adaptive leadership practices within local contexts. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Principal Leadership Questionnaire, School Principal, Indonesia’s Education, Applied Psychology.

Basic Leadership Theory: An Ethical Leadership Approach to Developing Positive Lecturer Engagement

This study introduces the foundational leadership theory (FLT), an alternative ethical theory, to better understand the relationship between ethics and work engagement in higher education. The research was conducted at a private university in Pekanbaru City, focusing on the fields of management and accounting. Using a census sampling technique, 195 lecturers participated as respondents. Data analysis explored the predictive power of FLT's components—wisdom, affirmation, and pragmatism—on lecturers’ work engagement. The findings revealed that wisdom, affirmation, and pragmatism significantly and positively influence work engagement among lecturers. FLT, as a novel theory, provides a fresh perspective on understanding employee enthusiasm and organizational commitment. Human resource management (HRM) practices that emphasize FLT-based leadership can enhance employees’ eagerness and engagement, helping organizations maintain a competitive advantage. The results underscore the relevance of ethical leadership frameworks like FLT in fostering a motivated and engaged workforce. Further exploration of FLT’s role in mediating or moderating other ethical leadership practices may expand its applicability. Additionally, demographic factors such as race and income level warrant investigation to assess their impact on work engagement. FLT offers valuable insights into ethical leadership and its effect on employee engagement in higher education. Future research should consider other alternative ethical leadership styles to deepen our understanding of organizational commitment and work engagement dynamics.

Situational leadership theory in nursing management: a scoping review

AimTo provide a comprehensive overview of situational leadership theory as applied to nursing management, outlining its relevant measurement tools, intervention modalities, and reporting gaps.DesignA scoping review of the literature was conducted according to the JBI guidelines.Data sourcesEight databases were used including PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, Cqvip, SinoMed. References of included studies were also searched. All literature published up to 9 September 2024 was included.Review methodsAccording to the PCC framework, the search formula was developed and a three-stage integrated search strategy was employed to search the literature. The titles, abstracts, and full texts were assessed by the reviewers followed by the data extraction and synthetization of results.ResultsNineteen articles were included in this study, including five cross-sectional studies, thirteen quasi-experimental studies, and one mixed study. The research identified that situational leadership theory has multiple applications in nursing management and plays an important role in the development of nurses’ leadership and maturity. However, the studies were reported with low transparency and did not adhere to the relevant reporting guidelines. In addition, further validation of the relevant measuring instruments is needed.ConclusionSituational leadership is a follower-centred leadership skill that enables leaders to adapt their leadership style to achieve optimal management results, facilitate the achievement of organizational goals, and increase follower satisfaction and growth. Further research is needed to develop standardized intervention protocols to apply this theory effectively and enhance the reporting quality of relevant studies.ImpactThe situational leadership theory emphasizes the necessity for nursing managers to use different leadership styles depending on their nurses’ maturity. However, the study suggests that it is necessary to further differentiate between different situational leadership models and to explore relevant research tools and interventions further. This could lead to a more standardized and effective clinical application of the theory.

Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership Effectiveness in Corporate Settings in South Africa

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership effectiveness in corporate settings. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Emotional intelligence (EI) significantly impacts leadership effectiveness in corporate settings. Leaders with higher EI are better able to manage their own emotions and understand others' emotional states, which enhances their decision-making, communication, and conflict resolution skills. These EI competencies foster stronger team cohesion, improved employee morale, and higher overall productivity. In South African companies, leaders with high EI are also better equipped to navigate the challenges posed by organizational changes and cultural diversity, leading to a more positive and resilient work environment. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Emotional intelligence theory, transformational leadership theory & social and emotional learning may be used to anchor future studies on the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership effectiveness in corporate settings. Organizations can also foster a culture that values emotional intelligence by providing coaching and mentorship programs that emphasize emotional awareness and empathy. Companies can create policies that promote the integration of EI into organizational performance reviews, aligning EI competencies with leadership success criteria.