Examining the Effect of Principals' Inclusive Leadership Practices on Organizational Hypocrisy through the Mediating Role of Trust in Principal

Abstract

This study aims to explore the effect of inclusive leadership and trust in principal on organizational hypocrisy in schools. We employed a quantitative methodology and used a cross-sectional survey design and Structural Equation Modelling to determine the relationships between inclusive leadership, trust in principal, and organizational hypocrisy. The research sample consisted of 408 teachers working in preschool, primary, secondary and high schools in different regions of Türkiye. We collected the data of the study through "Inclusive Leadership Scale," "Organizational Hypocrisy Scale," and "Trust in Principal Scale." The results showed that inclusive leadership, directly and indirectly, affected organizational hypocrisy. According to the total effect, inclusive leadership had a significant, negative, and large impact on organizational hypocrisy and explained 75% of the variance in organizational hypocrisy. Results also indicated a direct effect of inclusive leadership on trust in principal and of trust in principal on organizational hypocrisy. In addition, trust in principal had a mediator effect between inclusive leadership and organizational hypocrisy. Consequently, inclusive leadership and trust in principal were important variables in reducing organizational hypocrisy in schools. In this context, principals need to increase trust in principal by displaying inclusive leadership behaviors to reduce organizational hypocrisy that causes negative consequences in schools.

The relationship between inclusive leadership and teachers perceptions of organizational trust: A cross-sectional survey in Türkiye

“…Similarly, the results of this study showed that the view that inclusive leadership significantly and positively explains the level of organizational trust in schools is common among teachers working in different public schools. This is in line with the findings of many other studies that have examined the relationship between inclusive leadership and organizational trust in a limited number of organizations (Ağalday, 2022;Azarian & Taghipour, 2020;Oh et al, 2023;Raiz et al, 2023;Siyal et al, 2023). In other words, it can be said that in schools where inclusive leadership behaviors are in place, there can be a significant increase in teachers' organizational trust.…”

“…Over the past decade, research (Ağalday, 2022;Kuknor & Bhattacharya, 2016;Raiz et al, 2023;Siyal et al, 2023;Zeng et al, 2020) has focused on inclusive leadership (IL) to address current leadership problems in organizations with regard to OT. IL aims to enhance the viewpoints and input of its members in an organization, enabling them to increase competence and performance.…”

“…These studies concentrate on the impact of power distance and employee behavior within an organization. Here, a limited number of studies (Ağalday, 2022;Azarian & Taghipour, 2020;Oh et al, 2023;Raiz et al, 2023;Siyal et al, 2023) have directly assessed the employees' perceptions on the correlation between IL and OT in educational establishments.…”

School middle leaders' transformational leadership and organizational resilience: The moderating role of academic emphasis

“…In this context, leadership affects work-related outcomes. For example, recent research findings have shown a negative relationship between an inclusive leadership style, one that promotes inclusivity and trust and organizational hypocrisy (Ağalday, 2022). Furthermore, research has shown that leader hypocrisy, that is, misalignment between words and actions, influences organizational outcomes (Ilsev & Aydin, 2021), while ethical leadership is correlated with organizational legitimacy, influencing hypocrisy occurrence (Kılıçoğlu & Kılıçoğlu, 2021).…”