The Impact of Design Thinking and Grit on Filipino Millennial Academic Supervisors' Transformational Leadership Attributes: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract

The emergence of millennial teacher-leaders in organizations' strategic positions has promoted a culture of vitality among contemporary educational institutions. Albeit recent research depicts them as the catalyst towards a dynamic paradigm shift, other scholars far and wide have painted a contradicting portrait of their work ethic: professionals who either lack grit or possess creative ideation. Alongside their ascent to the echelons of leadership is their subscription to one of the dominant leadership modalities that are said to be unique in a given culture and profession: Transformational Leadership. This quantitative study investigates the impacts of design thinking and grit behaviors on the derived factor dimensions of
transformational leadership. It determined what is sensitive to the Filipino cultural configuration, millennial generation sensibilities, and professional distinction of educators. 240 academic supervisors from various public and private schools, colleges, and universities completed the robotfoto, Transformational Leadership Behavior Inventory, Creative Synthesis Inventory, and Short Grit Scale. Data gathered were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, and Correlation Analysis. The EFA of Transformational Leadership derived two-factor dimensions, namely: Critical- and Reflexive-Synergism. Only design thinking positively impacts the evolved transformational leadership attributes (β = 0.84). The variables design thinking and grit have a weak correlation. The SEM was able to yield an emerging model with an acceptable fit (Cmin/df = 1.21, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.03). The findings could serve as a basis for policy formulation and the future direction for methodological pluralism on the phenomenon.