Mediatory effects of psychological empowerment and selfregulation on the relationships between leadership styles, selfefficacy and structural empowerment with job performance

Job performance is one of the main variables in organizational behavior. Improving job performance is one of the most important goals of organization managers due to efficacy improvement in society. This study aimed at designing and testing a model of indirect relationship between leadership styles, self-efficacy, structural empowerment and job performance with the mediation of psychological empowerment and self-regulation among teachers in Khoramabad city (Center of Lorestan province in Islamic Republic of Iran).

The study was a correlation research via structural equations modeling. Population of the study were selected from high school teachers in Khoramabad city. We applied MishaSpreitzer psychological empowerment questionnaire; Kappa Aydin et al self-regulatory questionnaire; Patterson job performance questionnaire; Blanchard-Hersey leadership styles questionnaire; Kordnaij, Bakhshizadeh and Fathollahi structural empowerment questionnaire; Woolfok and Shanen-Moran self-efficacy questionnaire as research tools.

Participants in this study were 202 (52.5%) females and 183 (47.5%) males. In regard to education, 6 (1.6%) participants had diploma degree; 36 (9.4%) participants had above diploma degree; 251 (65.2%) participants had bachelor degree; 91 (23.6%) participants had master´s degree and 1 (0.3%) participant had a doctorate degree. The results of data analysis including 385 questionnaires completed by participants with Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares) software showed that model fits with data. Justifying (t=3.061, P=0.002) and participatory (t=2.02, P=0.044) leadership styles as well as structural empowerment (t=2.914, P=0.004) had causal and indirect effects on job performance with mediation of psychological empowerment. Based on results, psychological empowerment and self-regulatory mediate the relationships between justifying leadership style and job performance (t=2.633, P=0.009); structural empowerment and job performance (t=2.591, P=0.010) as well as self-efficacy with job performance (t=2.591, P=0.003).

The schools should have mechanisms that develop the use of justifying and participatory leadership styles. Improving self-efficacy of teachers and structural empowerment helps to have self-regulating teachers with higher psychological empowerment, which positively affect their job performance. Self-regulation and self-efficacy of teachers and change in leadership style lead to structural empowerment in schools with the help of teachers who have high job performance.