Workplace creativity and job satisfaction of academic librarians: A perspective of distributed leadership theory

Abstract

Distributed leadership (DL) is a less focused area in librarianship and further limited literature in the context of workplace creativity and job satisfaction. This study investigates the impact of DL dimensions (decision making, delegation of authority, and motivation) on workplace creativity and job satisfaction in the academic libraries of Pakistan. A quantitative research approach was used and data was collected through an adapted questionnaire. A purposive sampling method was used, and the data was collected from 241 library professionals. The findings revealed that library professionals favor the DL in libraries. The regression model revealed that two DL dimensions (decision making and motivation) have a significant positive impact on workplace creativity and job satisfaction, whereas the ‘delegation of authority’ did not impact workplace creativity. The library professionals considered ‘creativity’ as the core function of leadership. However, they offer suggestions and let the leadership decide to implement them. The library directors need to provide independence and authority to the middle-managers while delegating authority so that they make decisions, learn, and perform better when they ascend to leadership positions. Theoretical and practical implications were added with the context that DL provides an opportunity to utilize the potential of the team members to foster creativity and job satisfaction in the academic libraries. This study fills a gap in the research and looks at how DL affects creativity at work and job satisfaction in libraries.

The Impact of Leaders on Motivating Human Resources in Organisations

“…Analysis of the impact of leadership on the performance of employees through motivation and achievement of job satisfaction has been presented in many studies (Semedo et al, 2022, Elifneh and Daniel, 2022, Nguyen et al, 2022, Zarei and Issahaka, 2022, Gao et al, 2022, Dash et al, 2022, Ashiq et al, 2023. Leaders are interested in attracting and retaining highly skilled and experienced employees to perform tasks aimed at achieving the strategic objectives and tactical objectives of the organization.…”

Managers or leaders: Who fit the helms of 21st century librarianship?

“…Distributed leadership supports personnel to collaborate and bring ideas and expertise together so that their collective action achieves more than their individual actions and serves as a catalyst for library service development and innovation (Goulding & Walton, 2014). Ashiq et al (2022) observed that Distributed leadership is a less-focused area in Librarianship. But some scholars such as Jeenn (2022) and Johnston (2015) have argued that Distributed leadership was propounded to erase the belief that leadership is often held in one person.…”

Leveraging distributed leadership for effective services delivery in the library system

“…Distributed Leadership supports library personnel to collaborate and bring ideas and expertise together so that their collective action achieves more than their individual actions and serves as a catalyst for library service development and innovation (Goulding and Walton, 2014). Ashiq et al (2022) observed that Distributed Leadership is a less focused area in Librarianship. But some scholars such as Jenn (2022) and Johnston (2015) have argued that Distributed Leadership was propounded to erase the belief that leadership is often held in one person.…”

“…Ashiq et al (2022) observed that Distributed Leadership is a less focused area in Librarianship. But some scholars such as Jenn (2022) and Johnston (2015) have argued that Distributed Leadership was propounded to erase the belief that leadership is often held in one person.…”