Investigation of the relationship between school managers' leadership style and innovation and risk taking behaviors

The main purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between school managers' leadership styles and innovation and risk taking behaviors. It is also another purpose of the research to determine whether school managers differ in their leadership styles according to gender, educational status, managerial position, managerial duration, and school level studied. The sample of the research consists of 256 managers and assistant manangers working in primary and secondary schools in the province of Trabzon. The participants in the sample group are 36 women and 220 men. Personal Information Form, Multifactor Leadership Scale, Innovation and Risk Taking Behavior Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.00. Pearson's product moments correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression analysis, the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. The analysis results show that there is a significant negative correlation between the transformational leadership style and innovation and risk taking; there is a meaningful negative correlation between the transactional leadership style and innovation and risk taking; there is a significant negative correlation between the liberal leadership style, and innovation and risk taking. It has also been found that leadership styles are a significant predictor of innovation and risk taking behaviors. Moreover, it has been determined that the style of the transformational leadership differs according to the educational status of the managers and managerial duration; the style of the transformational and liberal leadership differs according to the managerial position. Leadership styles did not differ according to gender and school level. The results of the research were compared with similar research results in the literature and some suggestions were made. Key Words: Transformational leadership style, Transactional leadership style, Liberal leadership style, Innovation, Risk taking