Leader Member Exchange as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Schools’ Openness to Change and Political Skills of School Principals

In today’s competitive and complex environment, school leaders require social influencing skills to mobilize schools to enable them to adapt to change. The schools’ openness to change (SOC) is affected by the direction and strength of relationships between teachers and principals in the school. In particular, the political skills of school principals can play a prominent role in mobilizing employees for change. This research investigates the impact of school principals’ political skills on schools’ openness to change, with a focus on the mediating role of leader member exchange (LMX) quality. The sample group was obtained by simple random sampling from 613 state teachers working in the Kocaeli province in Turkey in the 2019 to 2020 academic year. This study is based on quantitative data collected through the “Leader-Member Exchange Scale,”“Schools’ Openness to Change Scale,” and “Political Skill Inventory.” The measurement models of the latent variables (political skill, LMX, and SOC) were confirmed via running Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Afterward, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the structural model. The results reveal that the political skills of school principals significantly predict the SOC and the LMX. Political skills of school principals affect schools’ openness to change positively, and leader-member exchange positively effects the relationship between political skills and openness to change. It’s recommended that activities supporting the quality of leader member interactions in schools be carried out. Plain language summary Exploring the mediating role of leader-member exchange: Political skills of principals and the schools’ openness to change This research examines the impact of school principals’ political skills on schools’ openness to change (SOC), focusing on the mediating role of leader member exchange (LMX) quality. The study was conducted on 613 state teachers in Turkey during the 2019 to 2020 academic year. Data was collected through the “Leader-Member Exchange Scale,”“Schools’ Openness to Change Scale,” and “Political Skill Inventory.” The results showed that political skills significantly predict the SOC and LMX, positively affecting schools’ openness to change. The relationship between political skills and openness to change is positively influenced by leader-member exchange. The study recommends activities supporting the quality of leader member interactions in schools.