Document Type : Exploratory

Authors

• Zeinab Salehi Khalaf Badam ¹
• Naser Barkhordar ²
• Rashid Zolfaghari Zaafarani ³

¹ Ph.D Student, Department of Public Management - Organizational Behavior, Rudhen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rudehen, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Rudehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rudehen, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction
Transformational leadership is the ability to create and guide a meaningful and bold vision that not only separates people from the status quo, but also forces them to redefine their own identity, values, and abilities so that they voluntarily become agents of change. Even in situations of extreme uncertainty. Transformational leadership is known as a process in which leaders and followers push each other to a higher level of ethics and motivation. Municipalities generally have a strong hierarchical structure and a deep bureaucratic culture. This can be a major obstacle to transformational leadership, as it is difficult to shift decision-making power and encourage bottom-up participation from employees. Resistance from middle managers, who are accustomed to traditional command-and-control styles, can be a major obstacle. Tehran Municipality, as a large and complex organization, plays a vital role in providing public services and managing urban affairs. Sometimes, the lack of active participation of employees in decision-making processes can prevent the organization from fully realizing its potential and providing quality and innovative services to citizens. The purpose of this research was to design a transformational leadership model with a participatory approach for Tehran Municipality employees.
 
Methodology
The present research method is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method, and mixed in terms of method. The statistical population of the research included managers with more than ten years of experience in the field of Tehran municipality management, professors and experts in management and urban services familiar with the subject of transformational leadership in the 22 districts of Tehran municipality. Sampling was carried out using purposive, theoretical, and snowball methods with a total of 15 people until the theoretical saturation stage of data collection. The data collection tool was semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis using structural-interpretive modeling. The qualitative data analysis method was a three-stage coding of basic themes, organizing themes, and overarching themes. Also, for quantitative data, the structural-interpretive modeling method was used with the MICMAC software. In this study, first, using the five initial stages of the content analysis strategy, the components and indicators in the theoretical foundations of transformational leadership are extracted, and after evaluating them using the interview technique and the content analysis method, qualitative analysis and coding of the extracted components and indicators are carried out, and the relevant questions are presented along with the proposed model. To ensure the validity and reliability of the research data, face and content validity were used, and Cronbach's alpha method was used to determine the reliability of the test.
 
Findings
The findings showed that the transformational leadership model, with an emphasis on the participation of Tehran Municipality employees, consists of 149 codes, 25 basic themes, and 8 organizing themes. The eight main components include creating a shared vision, inspiring motivation, empowering employees, effective interaction and communication, stimulating and influencing, collaborating and thinking together, organizational performance, and virtue ethics. Quantitative results showed that stimulation and influence, employee empowerment, moral and spiritual role models, and creating a shared vision are the most influential and are the underlying components, respectively. It is suggested that the municipality take a step towards achieving organizational goals by creating a fair and transparent recognition and encouragement system for employees.
 
Discussion and Conclusion
The relationships between the components of the model show that the components of inspirational motivation, effective interaction and communication, cooperation and collaboration, and organizational performance have a two-way relationship and mutual influence, but the relationship between the other components is one-way. On the other hand, according to the obtained model, it should be acknowledged that the components of inspirational motivation, effective interaction and communication, cooperation and collaboration, and organizational performance, which are located at the fifth level, have the greatest impact on other components, and also the component of stimulation and influence, which is located at the first level, receives the greatest impact from other components. The overall results of the research are as follows: Participatory leaders, by creating and promoting a clear and shared vision, define organizational direction and increase employee commitment and alignment. Inspirational leaders inspire employees to go beyond expectations by inspiring and motivating them. This motivation is created by communicating the organization's values, beliefs, and lofty goals to employees, as well as encouraging and appreciating their efforts. Participatory leaders empower employees by delegating authority, providing necessary training, and creating opportunities for growth and development. This empowerment increases the sense of ownership, responsibility, and active participation of employees in decision-making. Emphasis on ethical values ​​and responsible behavior, justice, fairness, and integrity in all organizational dimensions leads to the promotion of professional ethics, public trust, and organizational sustainability. Virtuous leaders inspire others by modeling ethical behavior and human values ​​and promote a virtue-based organizational culture. Research suggests that collaborative leaders, by creating and promoting a clear and shared vision, set organizational direction and increase employee commitment and alignment. Inspirational leaders inspire employees to go above and beyond expectations by inspiring and motivating them.
This motivation is created by communicating the organization's values, beliefs, and lofty goals to employees, as well as by encouraging and appreciating their efforts. Participatory leaders empower employees by delegating authority, providing necessary training, and creating opportunities for growth and development. This empowerment increases employees' sense of ownership, responsibility, and active participation in decision-making. Emphasizing ethical values ​​and responsible behavior, justice, fairness, and integrity in all organizational dimensions promotes professional ethics, public trust, and organizational sustainability.
Virtuous leaders inspire others by modeling ethical behavior and human values ​​and promote a virtue-based organizational culture. Research suggestions include holding brainstorming sessions, developing a vision document, recognizing and encouraging, creating growth and development opportunities, delegating authority, providing necessary training, creating communication channels, creating opportunities for exchanging ideas, supporting risk-taking, and forming work teams.

Keywords

• Leadership
• Leadership Style
• Transformational Leadership
• Participation
• Employee Participation

Main Subjects

• Modeling