Construction and Validation of a Secure-base Leadership Model in Educational Organizations: A Mixed-methods Exploratory Study

There is no doubt about the importance of leadership and attachment styles on individual behavior and organizational outcomes. However, researchers have neglected to apply and integrate attachment concepts in management and organizational studies for years. One of the basic concepts in attachment theory is the secure base. In 2010, Coombe considered the application of this concept in leadership, which resulted in representing the theory of secure base leadership. The present study aimed at constructing and validating a secure base leadership model. The research method is a mixed exploratory method composed of qualitative and quantitative measures including thematic analysis and survey, respectively. The participants of the qualitative section were 14 faculty members, specialists, and experts in the field of educational management and psychology selected using the purposive sampling method and snowball technique. Besides, the participants of the quantitative part included 441 administrative staff and teachers in Tehran were by cluster sampling. Open, axial, and selective coding was used to analyze interview data in the former part, while in the latter, structural equations were used. The results of the qualitative analysis indicated that secure base leadership includes three main aspects, namely security (accepting people (acceptance), support, providing security, mutual trust, independence, fairness, staying calm (controlling and adjusting emotions)), exploration (risk-taking, increasing individual capacities, being responsive and sensible, intellectual stimulation), and deep intellectual bond (positive attitude, high emotional capacity, transparency in relationships, compatibility, being a good listener). Also, the quantitative part of the research results showed validity and reliability as well as a good fit of the proposed model.