Study Analyses Influence of Transformational Leadership in Educational Contexts

03.02.2025

Sadaf Bafandeh’s Master’s Thesis Highlights Importance of Motivating Employees

Leadership plays a crucial role in the success of organisations, directly impacting both employee motivation and well-being. To better understand the influence of transformational leadership on employees’ self-esteem in the higher education context, Wittenborg graduate Sadaf Bafandeh chose to write her master’s thesis on this topic.

Originally from Iran, Bafandeh recently completed a Master of Business Management (MBM) degree in Human Resources Management. “I chose the topic of transformational leadership for my thesis because I believe this leadership style is essential for enhancing the self-esteem and motivation of employees in any business setting, especially in educational institutions. This leadership approach focuses on the individuals within the team rather than just the team as a whole, with the leader caring about individual development in addition to team success,” she highlights.

To gather data for her study, the researcher used surveys, which were administered to 122 faculty members from Dutch universities of applied sciences. Among other topics, the questionnaire covered the respondents’ level of familiarity with transformational leadership, the presence of this style of leadership in the organisation, the effectiveness of communication within teams/departments and the institution’s organisational culture.

The research finds that transformational leadership affects employees’ efficiency and corporate performance. Additionally, effective leadership is critical in education, as faculty members shape the students’ intellectual and emotional development. For this reason, transformational leaders contribute positively to organisational culture by motivating, inspiring and boosting education professionals’ self-esteem, which creates a more pleasant and efficient workplace.

Bafandeh argues that organisations should make efforts to boost workers' confidence a top priority. She underlines that to further enhance the positive effects of leadership, it is important to foster a supportive organisational culture that encourages open communication, recognises employee achievements and promotes a collaborative work environment.

The graduate comments that, for her, the most gratifying aspect of doing her thesis was learning how to use SPSS Statistics software. Additionally, she advises students who are working on their graduation assignments to believe in themselves and research their topics in depth.

Regarding her future plans, Bafandeh says that she is seeking to improve her proficiency of the Dutch language and looking for jobs in business administration or Human Resources. “I am also in contact with universities in the United States to explore the possibility of pursuing a PhD in leadership,” she points out.