The relationship of teachers' charismatic leadership perceptions and performance levels: Example of Trabzon province

The competencies which the managers have are very important in terms of the effectiveness of the management process. The success of managers in human relations is of great importance among these competencies. In the leadership literature, it is seen that one of the most distinctive features of charismatic leadership is the ability to be successful in terms of human relations. In our time, the definition of "manager with leadership qualities" stands out. This means that the manager, who has power and authority in an organization through the given status, acts like a leader who does not have an organizational status and influences other people. In this process, "charismatic power" stands out for managers more than other power sources. Charismatic power refers to managers using their charismatic characteristics to influence employees. It would not be wrong to say that charismatic features appear as an important tool that enables managers to be effective on employee performance. The aim of this study is to determine the level of the relationship between the charismatic leadership characteristics of school principals and the performance of teachers working in schools. In line with this goal, the charismatic leadership characteristics of school principals and the variables that affect teachers' performance were examined. At the same time, it is aimed to determine to what extent these variables affect their performance, how important they are and what factors affect their performance. The universe of the research consists of 4745 teacher working in private or public kindergarten, primary education and high school equivalent schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Ortahisar district of Trabzon province. Due to most schools being closed because of pandemic conditions, the convenience sampling method was used and 1124 teachers had been chosen for the research. The survey was shared on the internet. 274 surveys had been collected and the unsuitable data were eliminated. In the end, 250 surveys were used for analysis. The "Charismatic Leadership Scale" developed by Conger and Kanungo (1994) was used in the research to measure charismatic leadership characteristics. In order to measure teachers' perceptions of individual performance levels, Erdogan's (2013) individual performance scale was used. The "Charismatic Leadership Scale" developed by Conger and Kanungo (1994) consists of 25 questions and 6 sub-dimensions (determining vision, environmental awareness, exhibiting unusual behaviors, taking personal risks, being sensitive to employee needs, and not maintaining the current situation). Erdogan's (2013) individual performance scale consists of a total of 6 questions and a single factor. The data needed within the scope of the research was obtained by the survey method. While the first part of the questionnaire used in the research consists of questions about demographic information, the other part consists of statements about performance and charismatic leadership. Hypotheses were established within the scope of the research model created and these hypotheses were analyzed with the SPSS package program. As a result of the analyzes made; The hypotheses that the sub-dimensions of setting vision, environmental awareness, exhibiting unusual behaviors, taking personal risks, being sensitive to employee needs, and not maintaining the current situation have an impact on performance have been confirmed. The findings obtained as a result of the research were evaluated by comparing them with the findings of the studies in the literature, and the study was concluded with recommendations for practice. Keywords: Charismatic Leadership, Leadership, Charisma, Performance, Employee Performance