The Role of Inspirational Leadership in Achieving Institutional Excellence in Private Universities: A Field Study on Leaders of Private Universities in Taiz Governorate

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the role of inspirational leadership in achieving institutional excellence among leaders of private universities in Taiz Governorate. It also sought to examine the level of availability of inspirational leadership and institutional excellence dimensions, the nature of the relationship between them, and the differences in respondents’ perceptions according to selected demographic variables. The study adopted the descriptive approach using both survey and correlational methods. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument and was administered to a stratified random sample of (160) leaders from private universities in Taiz Governorate.

The findings revealed that both inspirational leadership and institutional excellence were at a moderate level, with an overall mean score of (3.18). The mean score of inspirational leadership was (3.21), while institutional excellence recorded a mean score of (3.15). The inspirational vision dimension ranked first among the dimensions of inspirational leadership, whereas empowerment and participation ranked last. Regarding institutional excellence, the quality of education and academic programs dimension ranked first, while community service and partnerships ranked last. The results also revealed a strong positive statistically significant correlation between inspirational leadership and institutional excellence (r = 0.754, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the findings indicated statistically significant differences attributed to gender in favor of males, while no statistically significant differences were found according to job position. Limited differences appeared in some dimensions based on educational qualification and years of experience.

The study recommended enhancing inspirational leadership practices, particularly in the areas of empowerment and participation, and developing institutional excellence frameworks through supporting educational quality, scientific research, innovation, and strengthening community partnerships.