The Impact of Leadership Styles on Groupthink : the Case of Turkish Teachers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of transformational leadership and transactional leadership on groupthink among Turkish teachers in Gaziantep, one of the largest provinces of Turkey. This study examines two main research questions using structural equation modeling: (1) How does leadership style i.e., perceived transformational and transactional leadership affect groupthink of the participants? (2) How does leadership style and groupthink differ by participants’ gender, education, type of school they work, the college/field they graduate, the school location of participants, the desire of being a manager, and tenure of the participants? The findings of the study revealed that the impact of the participants’ perceptions on transformational leadership on all sub-dimensions of groupthink is statistically significant. Contrary to common belief, this study found that transformational leadership style led to higher groupthink among Turkish teachers. Additionally, transactional leadership is a significant predictor of the groupthink sub-dimensions of Concurrence Seeking, Group Identity, Symptoms of Defective Decision Making, and External Activities, while it is not a significant predictor of the sub-dimensions of External Activities and Team Performance.