The role of effective leadership in improving the work environment

The way leadership affects Baghdad's governmental agencies' workplace culture is investigated in this research. For this purpose a qualitative approach was adopted and phenomenology design was followed. Data were gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 Ten municipal managers who are responsible for different departments within the Baghdad municipality. Findings indicate that Iraqi leaders apply a "hybrid" form of leadership that goes beyond the traditional (Western) forms of transformational, servant and situational leadership. Transformational, servant, situational leadership practices are clearly present among Iraqi leaders. However, Iraqi leaders have demonstrated strong ethical, interpersonal, people-oriented and practical leadership practices which are formed by the unique cultural, political and administrative realities of Iraq. For example, the leaders face extreme resource limitations, political interference, and high public expectations and, therefore, have an obligation to implement justice, maintain open communication, motivate employees, build trust with employees, and empower employees to create a positive work environment. These are not preferred methods of leadership, however they are necessary to maintain organizational stability and allow the organization to function on a day-to-day basis. In addition, interviews with municipal managers further supported that leadership is multi-dimensional in Baghdad and that there is a need for leaders to be able to motivate their employees, solve problems, serve as technical experts, and support the welfare of their employees. Municipal managers expect their leaders to not only motivate and direct them, but to assist them with their personal issues, provide fair treatment, and address operational challenges. Based upon the findings from this research, it was clear that there was no one theoretical approach that could adequately explain the complexity of leadership in Iraq's public sector. Therefore, based upon the findings of this research, effective leadership in Iraq's public sector is best explained as being a flexible and context-based model of leadership that allows managers to develop solutions to the ever changing demands placed upon them and improve the work environment for all employees.