Differential-Configuration Model As A Framework For Understanding Psychopathology Of Leadership On Subordinate In Nigerian Academic Libraries
Gani Esther
Faculty of Information Technology, ICT University USA Baton Rouge, USA
Francis Takwi Ph.D
Faculty of Information Technology, ICT University USA Baton Rouge, USA
Chinyere Igwe
Faculty of Information Technology, ICT University USA Baton Rouge, USA
Keywords: Psychopathology, Leadership, Differential-Configuration Model, personality traits
Abstract
Psychopathology is a leadership trait possessed by leaders in order to successfully run the affairs of their organizations be it business, social entity, educational, and private entity. psychopathic leadership, therefore, is no longer a story in organizations, especially in educational organizations. An area of interest on psychopathology in leadership is with respect to the engagement of subordinates to prescribed duties and commitment to assigned jobs under psychopathic leaders. In developed economies, various studies exist about the psychopathology of leadership. In this study, there is the challenge of subordinates not understanding the traits possessed by their psychopathic leaders which affect staff engagement and commitment to prescribed duties and assigned jobs. Grounded in Differential-Configuration Model, this study investigates how subordinates that are under psychopathic leaders understand the traits possessed by the leaders and what impact does the traits contribute to their engagement and commitment to prescribed and assigned duties for the success of organization’s performance and productivity. This study was framed in interpretative epistemology. A qualitative methodology and a case study research design was adopted. Interviews were conducted with 8 library staff located in an economic developing society in Africa—the Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna Nigeria. The study used the thematic analysis process to identify76 narratives. The narratives are organized into 4 major categories and further collapsed into 2 theoretical constructs explaining how subordinates (staff of KASU library) under a psychopathic leader understand his personality traits and how these personality traits affect the subordinates’ engagement and commitment to prescribed and assigned duties. the findings denote that KASU library staff view their leader extremely bold, adventurous, focussed, dedicated and have emotional resilience