Leadership styles exhibited by educational leaders and the organizational pathologies they cause according to teachers' opinions

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among the variables of autocratic leadership, neurotic leadership, and dark leadership, as well as to identify the organizational pathologies caused by these variables. The research was designed according to the explanatory sequential design, one of the mixed-method research designs. In the quantitative phase of the study, a correlational research model was used. The study was conducted with 673 high school teachers working in a province in eastern Turkey. The quantitative data of the study were collected using the Autocratic Leadership Scale, the Neurotic Leadership Perception Scale, and the Dark Leadership Scale. The qualitative phase of the study was designed using a phenomenological research design. For the qualitative phase, school-based analyses identified two schools where the total scores of autocratic leadership, neurotic leadership, and dark leadership were found to be at a moderate level, and 10 participants from these schools were selected. A semi-structured interview form, developed by the researcher, was used to collect qualitative data. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. In the quantitative analysis, SPSS 30.0, AMOS 23.0, and Nvivo 12 Pro software packages were utilized. The quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, Bootstrap Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study tested the mediating role of the dimensions of neurotic leadership manipulative and oppressive leadership and overly emotional and angry leadership in the effect of autocratic leadership on dark leadership. The quantitative findings revealed that manipulative and oppressive leadership partially mediated the effect of autocratic leadership on dark leadership. The qualitative findings further confirmed that this effect led to the emergence of destructive leadership, narcissistic leadership, and petty tyrant leadership as dimensions of dark leadership within organizations. In addition, the findings indicated that overly emotional and angry leadership partially mediated the effect of autocratic leadership on dark leadership. This effect was associated with the exhibition of toxic leadership, abusive leadership, and unethical leadership behaviors in organizations, as evidenced by the qualitative data. The qualitative findings also indicated that autocratic leadership led to the emergence of pathological conditions in educational institutions, such as organizational silence, mobbing, bureaucratic approaches, organizational deviance, organizational alienation, and organizational depression. On the other hand, dark leadership causes organizational alienation, organizational burnout, organizational depression, and organizational failure. Furthermore, among the dimensions of neurotic leadership, manipulative and oppressive leadership was found to contribute to mobbing, organizational depression, and organizational alienation, while overly emotional and angry leadership was found to contribute to organizational alienation, organizational depression, rigidity, organizational failure, cynicism and organizational crises. Based on the findings, various recommendations were provided for educators and researchers.