Transforming Empowering Leadership in the Digital Era: Building a Culture of Innovation and Teacher Performance Based on Collaboration

Marwati Marwati; Syaiful  Eddy; Reva Maria  Valianti

Authors

Marwati Marwati Universitas PGRI Palembang Author
Syaiful Eddy Universitas PGRI Palembang Author
Reva Maria Valianti Universitas PGRI Palembang Author

Keywords:

Empowering leadership, digital transformation, innovation culture, teacher performance, collaboration, school principal

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of empowering leadership of school principals in facing digital era challenges, focusing on building innovation culture and improving teacher performance through collaborative approaches. Using a systematic literature review methodology, this research analyses 160 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010-2024 to synthesize current knowledge on empowering leadership practices in integrating digital technology, building collaborative culture, and creating environments supporting pedagogical innovation. Findings reveal that effective empowering leadership is characterized by four key dimensions: strategic vision and modelling, structural enablement, relational empowerment, and developmental support. Results indicate that these leadership practices foster innovation culture primarily through collaborative mechanisms, significantly impacting teachers' intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy for technology integration, teaching creativity, and overall instructional quality. The study provides a practical framework for principals to implement adaptive empowering leadership strategies in the digital era and offers policy recommendations for professional development focusing on transformational leadership competencies and digital literacy.

References

Admiraal, W., Kruiter, J., Lockhorst, D., Schenke, W., Sligte, H., Smit, B., Tigelaar, D., & de Wit, W. (2019). Affordances of teacher professional learning in secondary schools. Studies in Continuing Education, 38(3), 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2025.1114469

Bandura, A. (2019). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.

Bocconi, S., Kampylis, P., & Punie, Y. (2020). Innovating learning: Key elements for developing creative classrooms in Europe. Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. https://doi.org/10.2791/90566

Bogler, R., & Somech, A. (2020). Influence of teacher empowerment on teachers' organizational commitment, professional commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(3), 277–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.02.003

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2024). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/122.311

Day, C., Gu, Q., & Sammons, P. (2019). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: How successful school leaders use transformational and instructional strategies to make a difference. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(2), 221–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X15616863

Desimone, L. M., & Pak, K. (2024). Instructional coaching as high-quality professional development. Theory Into Practice, 56(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1241947

DuFour, R., & Fullan, M. (2019). Cultures built to last: Systemic PLCs at work. Solution Tree Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2022). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.

Edmondson, A. C., & Lei, Z. (2024). Psychological safety: The history, renaissance, and future of an interpersonal construct. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091305

Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2025). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2025.10782551

Fishman, B. J., Konstantopoulos, S., Kubitskey, B. W., Vath, R., Park, G., Johnson, H., & Edelson, D. C. (2019). Comparing the impact of online and face-to-face professional development in the context of curriculum implementation. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(5), 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487113494413

Fraillon, J., Ainley, J., Schulz, W., Friedman, T., & Duckworth, D. (2019). Preparing for life in a digital world: IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2018 international report. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38781-5

Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2019). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Corwin Press.

Gruenert, S., & Whitaker, T. (2025). School culture rewired: How to define, assess, and transform it. ASCD.

Hallinger, P. (2021). Leadership for learning: Lessons from 40 years of empirical research. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(2), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231111116699

Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (2025). Collaborative leadership and school improvement: Understanding the impact on school capacity and student learning. School Leadership & Management, 30(2), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632431003663214

Hargreaves, A., & O’Connor, M. T. (2018). Collaborative professionalism: When teaching together means learning for all. Corwin Press.

Harris, A. (2019). Distributed leadership: Friend or foe? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 41(5), 545–554. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143213497635

Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2020). COVID-19 – School leadership in disruptive times. School Leadership & Management, 40(4), 243–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2020.1811479

Honig, M. I., & Rainey, L. R. (2020). Autonomy and school improvement: What do we know and where do we go from here? Educational Policy, 26(3), 465–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904811417590

International Society for Technology in Education. (2018). ISTE standards for education leaders. ISTE.

Lee, A., Willis, S., & Tian, A. W. (2018). Empowering leadership: A meta-analytic examination of incremental contribution, mediation, and moderation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(3), 306–325. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2220

Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2020). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited. School Leadership & Management, 40(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077

Lockwood, C., Munn, Z., & Porritt, K. (2025). Qualitative research synthesis: Methodological guidance for systematic reviewers utilizing meta-aggregation. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 13(3), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000062

Penuel, W. R., Riel, M., Krause, A. E., & Frank, K. A. (2009). Analyzing teachers’ professional interactions in a school as social capital: A social network approach. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 124–163.

Sharma, P. N., & Kirkman, B. L. (2025). Leveraging leaders: A literature review and future lines of inquiry for empowering leadership research. Group & Organization Management, 40(2), 193–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115574906

Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times (2nd ed.). Corwin Press.

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Somech, A. (2021). Teachers’ personal and team empowerment and their relations to organizational outcomes: Contradictory or compatible constructs? Educational Administration Quarterly, 41(2), 237–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X04269592

Somech, A. (2022). The effects of leadership style and team process on performance and innovation in functionally heterogeneous teams. Journal of Management, 32(1), 132–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305277799

Spillane, J. P. (2022). Distributed leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2022). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-006-0001-8

Thurlings, M., & Brok, P. D. (2024). Learning outcomes of teacher professional development activities: A meta-study. Educational Review, 69(5), 554–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2024.1281226

Trust, T., Krutka, D. G., & Carpenter, J. P. (2019). “Together we are better”: Professional learning networks for teachers. Computers & Education, 102, 15–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.06.007

Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 783–805. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00036-1

Turvey, K. (2022). Towards deeper learning through creativity within online communities in primary education. Computers & Education, 46(3), 309–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.11.004

Vangrieken, K., Dochy, F., Raes, E., & Kyndt, E. (2025). Teacher collaboration: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 15, 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2025.04.002

Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2025). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2025.48037118

Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2023). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 807–840. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040004807