Leadership Behavior of Local Rural Leaders and Its Relationship WITH THE INDEPENT VARIABLES to Selected Personal and Social Variables in Baiji District, Salah Al-Din Governorate IN LRAQ

• Akram Mahmood Farhan1*, Majid Khalil Ali2

  Author

Rural local leaders occupy a pivotal intermediary role in agricultural extension systems, yet empirical evidence on the level and structure of their leadership behavior in Iraqi rural contexts remains limited. This study aimed to assess the overall level of leadership behavior among rural local leaders in Baiji District, Salah Al-Din Governorate, Iraq; examine inter-domain correlational relationships; and identify personal and social variables associated with behavioral variability. A structured questionnaire measuring four leadership behavior domains — general human and social relations, boldness in work and decision-making, administrative leadership, and guidance and counseling — was administered to a proportional random sample of 100 leaders drawn from a population of 333 (tribal sheikhs, village mukhtars, agricultural extension agents, and farmers' association members). Instrument reliability was confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.86 and a validity coefficient of 0.927. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Results indicated that 52% of respondents demonstrated high leadership behavior, 41% moderate, and 7% low, with an overall mean of 232.09 (SD = 9.52). Statistically significant positive correlations (p ≤ 0.01) were observed among all four behavioral domains, with the strongest association found between administrative leadership and guidance and counseling (r = 0.506). Educational level, conviction in the leadership role, readiness for change, and attitude toward local leadership work were significant differentiating variables, whereas age, role duration, and workplace location yielded no significant differences. These findings suggest that effective rural leadership development requires holistic, multi-domain training interventions tailored to leaders' cognitive and attitudinal profiles rather than relying on social position alone.

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