2024 - Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management Among Youth in
2024 - Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management Among Youth in
2024 - Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management Among Youth in
Feb 2024
Volume: 12, No: 2, pp.5365-5385
ISSN: 2051-4883 (Print) | ISSN 2051-4891 (Online)
www.KurdishStudies.net
Received: December 2023 Accepted: January 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58262/ks.v12i2.396
Abstract
Youths are the scion of future leadership who should be instilled with leadership style and skills for managing
conflicts. Discussions related to leadership show that the leadership qualities found in youths varies from each
other where the qualities are influenced by the environment and the ability of the youth. In addition to the
challenges present, the exposure of youths to resilience is important for them to adapt to society. Thus, this study
aimed to examine the relationship between authentic leadership and conflict management skills among youths in
Malaysia with resilience as the mediating variable. This study used a quantitative approach through the
distribution of questionnaires involving 439 respondents among youths comprising students of educational
programme and novice teachers in the northern zone of Peninsular Malaysia. Authentic Leadership
Questionnaire, The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI
II) were used in this study. The data was analyzed using SPSS 29 and SmartPLS 4 software. The findings
showed that there was a significant relationship between authentic leadership and conflict management while
resilience was a significant mediator between authentic leadership and conflict management among youths.
Accordingly, individuals with a leadership style are able to manage conflicts due to the resilience skills inherent
in them and are able to create positive emotions in the face of adversity.
Introduction
Youths are those who are directly involved in the development of a country. The progress and
setbacks of a country are measured by the quality of the younger generation of that country
(Tan & Abidin, 2016). According to Ibrahim et al. (2018), youths should be given early
exposure to life's challenges before they graduate. Early exposure to conflict resolution will
produce individuals who have a positive attitude and are able to reduce aggressiveness and
violence in them (Shanka & Thuo, 2017). In the process of personality construction, it is
important for youths to understand the concept of conflict, the elements of influence of
conflict, the impact of conflict and the skills in managing conflicts (Mohamad et al., 2021).
In their daily lives, youths will face many challenges that can affect their personal and academic lives
(Longobardi et al., 2016). At the higher education level, one of the factors that can cause youths to
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Mohamad, et al.5367
Literature Review
Conflict Management
Conflicts can occur in an environment where there is an active relationship between people
(Lamm et al., 2020). According to Wilmot and Hocker (2011), conflict is defined as
disagreement between individuals due to differences in values, beliefs, goals and relationships.
Conflict management is a process to identify and manage conflicts through appropriate and
fair methods. According to Huber (2013), conflict can be managed with effective
communication skills, problem solving skills and negotiation skills. According to Sabanci
(2016), an individual's conflict management style is closely related to the cause of the conflict.
In today's social situation, the individual who is able to manage conflicts is a professional
individual who has the ability to lead compared to individuals who do not have the skills to
manage conflicts (Guerrero, 2019). According to Rahim (2011), there are six factors that can
cause conflict to occur, namely, (a) different goals and cooperation between individuals (b)
different social inclinations (c) individual needs cannot be met due to limited resources (d)
opinions issued are ignored (e) personal interest exists when performing a task (f) too
dependent on others. Past studies have shown that an individual's conflict management skills
vary according to the role played in life. Studies show the higher the role of an individual, the
higher the conflict management skills required (Longitapraja et al., 2019; Pal, 2019). In addition,
Hakvoort et al. (2020) and Saiti (2015) are in the opinion that lack of a harmonious
environment and healthy relationships can lead to conflict. One of the factors that cause the
lack of a harmonious environment and healthy relationships because each individual has a
different personality. According to Wolf and Krause (2014), most of the communication
problems that occur in organizations are related to personality differences, which can cause
conflict. This is because, according to Sabanci et al. (2018), effective communication is the
result of understanding between the person who delivers the information and the recipient of
the information.
Accordingly, Mungania and Kihoro (2017) stated that in an educational institution conflict is
difficult to predict; it requires that individuals who are faced with conflict have the ability to
handle the conflict wisely. This is due to the fact that higher learning institutions will experience
various levels of conflict and complex phenomena which require various strategies and
solutions needed in resolving the conflict (Lukman, 2021). Conflict resolution skills among
youths should be given focus as youths will go through a process of self-development where
through this process they will form relationships with their parents and peers (Collins &
Stenberg, 2006). A study conducted by Akan (2020) demonstrated that basic life skills such as
communication, conflict resolution and empathy are basic skills that can help youths to adapt
to society and face life's challenges. Therefore, the conflict should not be avoided but the
conflict must be managed or resolved in order to prevent worse things from happening. Each
individual should at least have the knowledge to manage the conflict even if it is not able to
resolve the conflict in order to avoid getting bigger. The ability to think rationally in solve
conflicts can help individuals to make good decisions based on the current situation (Hendijani
& Ahmadi, 2023). This shows that every individual should have knowledge to manage conflict
that occurs events they are unable to resolve the conflict in order to avoid the conflict that
occurs becoming worse.
In managing conflict, Rahim (2002) stated that the strategy for managing conflict is based on
two dimensions, caring for oneself and caring for others. Rahim (2002) also added, self-care
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5368 Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management among Youth in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Resilience
refers to the concern of individuals to meet their goals in the process of managing conflict.
While caring for others refers to the individual's concern for others in the process of managing
conflict. Therefore, although the conflict management of each youth is different according to
the situation and environment, the skills to solve the conflict should be cultivated from the
time in the educational institution. This is because, according to Guncavdi-Alabay (2023), the
importance of having knowledge, skills and competence in the process of managing conflicts
can avoid from negative.
Authentic Leadership
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a
common goal (Northouse, 2015). In an organization, the leadership style practiced by a leader
can create an environment and improve the quality of the organization (Aboudahr &
Mohamad, 2021) and the leader should always be prepared to make any decision without
affecting his followers (Junnaid et al., 2020). Nowadays, the need to associate an individual's
character with authentic leadership has long been done, studied and even discussed (Avolio et
al., 2009; Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999). Authentic leadership is a leadership style capable of
influencing changes in organizational culture, behaviour and interactive relationships between
individuals (Abdullah & Ismail, 2018; Avolio et al., 2010; Ismail et al., 2019). Authentic
leadership is a positive leadership like ethical leadership, and transformation (Alvesson &
Einola, 2019) that emphasizes integrity, honesty and high moral values (Avolio et al., 2004;
Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Walumbwa et al. 2008). According to Saeed and Ali (2019),
individuals with authentic leadership personalities are individuals who are able to build a real
attitude of themselves where (Mat Zaid et al., 2022) also added that individuals with authentic
personalities have self-awareness and are also equipped with high moral standards. It is because,
authentic leadership is leadership that is based on values (Gerdener et al., 2011), has high morals
(Ribeiro et al., 2020) and is based on positive psychology (Dominguez-Escrig et al., 2023).
In addition, in celebrating the diversity of behavior, studies have shown that individuals who
practice an authentic leadership style are seen to be able to accept the diversity that exists and
are able to demonstrate the value of strong trust in those around them (Srivastava & Shree,
2019). According to Bandura et al. (2019), individuals who adopt authentic leadership traits
such as self-awareness, balance of information processing, appreciation of moral values and
sincerity in relationships will directly demonstrate a sacrifice attitude towards those around
them. Study conducted by Malloy et al. (2023) in institutions of higher learning showed that
individuals who practice an authentic leadership style are able to influence those around them
to become more committed due to the existence of a positive environment that is able to
benefit them. The positive social environment created by individuals who practice an authentic
leadership style in the university is also able to make individuals around them to be more open
in giving opinions without fearing the consequences of their open attitude in giving opinions
(Soares & Lopes, 2017).
This indirectly proves that through authentic leadership qualities, an individual is also able to
attract the trust of the people around them (Ayca, 2019; Bandura et al., 2019; Sadaf et al., 2020)
as well as being able to encourage others to voluntarily perform their responsibilities without
expecting anything in return (Roncesvalles and Gaerlan, 2021). In addition, through the
dimension of self-awareness, authentic leadership is seen as a leadership style that will prioritize
the views of others in improving communication with their followers and encourage those
around them to give their own views (Saffardin & Maydin, 2019). According to Edelman et al.
(2004), leadership among youths is described as the ability of youths to reflect the goals and
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changes needed, to be responsible for every action done and to build relationships and
communicate well with others. Meanwhile Hoy and Miskel (2008) said that the ability of the
individual to influence those around him and the organization through internal and external
elements, the selection of goals, organizational activities, individual abilities, sharing of views
and power relations is a social process in leadership. With the same stance, Jhonsen (2018)
added that the leadership qualities found in youths are different from each other where students
who are born talented and have advanced leadership qualities are students who are interested
and quick to learn, have a high level of perfection, are socially superior and have more advanced
cognitive development than their peers. However, this is refuted by Cetinkaya et al., (2021) and
Liu et al, (2020) who said that there are various opportunities to develop leadership potential
in individuals and they can highlight the leadership potential when having clear goals that they
want to achieve in their lives and thus being able to influence the people around them through
the leadership influence they have.
Resilience
Resilience is utilized in describing the positive and negative reactions of individuals when
dealing with various disorders from various angles such as ecosystems, organizations, personal
issues, security and also local culture (Winn & Dykes, 2019). According to Connor and
Davidson (2003), resilience is the quality and ability of an individual to cope with the difficulties
experienced. Resilience is an ability that develops in the individual over time where this skill
will exist as strength in the individual (Osman et al., 2015). As a result of the stress faced, the
resilience present in the individual can be translated through well-being, mental and physical
health (Mackay, 2017). This is because according to McFadden et al. (2014), individuals who
are resilient in the face of adverse experiences in life can avoid the adverse effects of the
experience by converting such bad experiences to something that can benefit their lives. This
goes hand in hand with the opinions of Yeager and Dweck (2012) that the behaviour of
individuals who are resilient in the face of adversity can be seen through the behaviors and
emotions displayed where those with resilience are constantly trying to find new strategies for
self-development and do not give up easily on challenges.
In the context of higher education, resilience is defined as the ability of students to recover and
rise from life difficulties, conflicts in everyday life and even failures (Fayissa et al., 2022). Past
research findings showed that resilience has an impact on students' well-being and success
(Beauvais et al., 2014; Souri & Hasanirad, 2011) and able to support academic development
and achievement (Martin et al., 2015). University is one of the educational institutions for
youths to start their studies at a higher level and at this stage the youths will face difficulties
that they have never faced before (de Almeida Santos & Benevides Soares, 2018). The pressure
obtained by the youth in higher learning institution is different compared to other youth
groups. Previous studies showed that youth in institutions of higher learning experience high
pressure that can affect their mental health, especially if there is a delinquent situation (Ibrahim
et al., 2013; Shek et al., 2017; Lederer et al., 2021). Therefore, among the constructs that can
support the lives of young people in institutions of higher learning is resilience. Resilience
becomes a critical concept for university students because life at university is full of stress
where most students start a new life by being away from their families and starting new episodes
in their lives (Can & Kalkan, 2021). Students who are able to adapt quickly to life at the
university are students with high endurance (Haktanir et al., 2018). Regardless of gender,
resilience is seen as a factor that is able to adapt to the pressures and challenges that in turn are
able to give a boost to the community (Othman & Gazali, 2020). Studies conducted by Masfield
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5370 Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management among Youth in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Resilience
and Beltman (2019) showed that through resilience, individuals will have a positive relationship,
achieve satisfaction in doing tasks, easily engage with assigned tasks, be more motivated and
have a positive identity. Therefore, resilience is seen among the elements that youths should
have in the face of life at the university. This is because resilience is seen as strength that guides
individuals to find self-goals, to prioritize others, to be generous, harmonious and to have
spiritual strength (Richardson, 2002).
Therefore, in order to develop resilience among youth in institutions of higher learning, the
institution's management and educators should play a role in this regard. This is because,
psychologically, resilience can be formed through life experience and can be obtained through
cognitive and behavioral training (Southwick & Charney, 2018). Study conducted by Price
(2023), showed that, in shaping youth resilience in institutions of higher education,
management and educators can create additional curricula or programs about the importance
of resilience and the need to have resilience. According to Price (2023), it can indirectly able to
form resilience among the youth and then is able to maintain the mental well-being of the
youth.
Authentic Leadership, Resilience and Conflict Management
In previous study, although there are many studies that examine the influence of authentic
leadership, resilience and conflict management, most of these studies are conducted separately
with other variables. A study conducted by Wong et al. (2020) showed that a leader who is able
to encourage people around him to resolve conflicts together is able to build trust and have a
harmonious relationship in achieving success and goals. Conflicts that are managed together
are able to convince the surrounding members that they can be trusted with each other and are
able to build confidence with the existence of support between them (Brown et al., 2005).
Enrolling in a higher education institution youths will face a different environment and learning
compared to during schooling. According to Sapta et al. (2021), the environment plays a role
in creating leadership style in individuals. Skills to face challenges possessed by individuals with
leadership characteristics are able to influence the environment to be more positive (Sothwick
et al., 2017). This is due to the fact that individuals with leadership qualities have unique
qualities that distinguish them from others (Lazaridou, 2020). A study by Xion and Huang
(2023) found that youths with authentic leadership style are able to influence their innovation
behavior in their daily life. According to (Selznick et al., 2022), the innovation behaviour among
youths is a new action and solution taken in the face of challenges. In short, individuals with
an authentic leadership style are individuals who can influence their conflict management style
and those around them (Demirdag & Kalaf, 2016; Hamilton, 2018) and are able to influence
others to be more innovative in solving the problems faced (Shang et al., 2019).
Based on the literature review, although there are many studies examining the influence of
authentic leadership, resilience and conflict management, most of these studies were conducted
separately alongside other variables. A study by Iannucci et al. (2021), showed that resilient
individuals are individuals who have less conflict in their lives. In addition, Choo and Prihadi
(2019) result finding showed that resilience is the mediator of perfection and academic
achievement among graduate students at the university. Besides that a study by Sacdalan and
Bozkus (2018) showed that resilience mediated the relationship between self-determination and
self-efficacy among youths. Although the relationship between self-determination and self-
efficacy was weak, Sacdalan and Bozkus (2018) found that resilience played a role in
strengthening the relationship between these two variables.
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Further, studies done by Sapmaz (2023); Seo and Yuh (2021) and Yirci et al. (2022) also showed
that resilience has an influence and affects between various variables. Therefore, the initial
assumption of this study was that the resilience variable was a mediator in the relationship
between authentic leadership and conflict management.
Research Methodology
Design of Study
This study was conducted using cross-sectional approach method. According to Creswell
(2008), descriptive study that uses a cross-sectional approach to test individual’s attitudes,
opinions, beliefs and behaviors is a suitable method. Therefore, this cross-sectional study
method was suitable as it was comprehensive and data from the respondents could be obtained
at once. The process of collecting data was through questionnaires answered by respondents.
The use of questionnaires is able to assess the respondents’ reactions to the questions and the
data can be analyzed accurately through statistical tests carried out (Creswell, 2014; Creswell &
Creswell, 2018).
Population and Research Sample
Purposive sampling technique was used to select the study sample to getting the right respondents
is a critical point in the study. In addition, purposive sampling technique (Creswell, 2014) is used
for specific population to meet the specified criteria. The targeted population of this study was
the youths studying in public universities and Teacher Education Institutions in the Northern
part of Malaysia. This study used purposive sampling technique involving 436 respondents.
Research Instrument
The questionnaires in this study were developed in the western country and also in Malaysia to
measure study variables. As the instrument in this study was in the English language, a
translator was appointed to translate the questionnaire into Bahasa Malaysia. The use of
translator in the back translation method was to obtain equivalent questionnaire and avoid
cross-culturalism as recommended by Brislin et al. (1973). This study also used the Authentic
Leadership Questionnaire from Walumbwa et al. (2008) which contained 16 items to examine
authentic leadership style among youths. Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory developed
by Rahim (1983) which consisted of 28 items was also used in this study. Meanwhile, the
Connor-Davidson resilience scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), containing 25 question items
was used to test resilience among respondents.
Data Analysis
A total of 533 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents and a total of 436
questionnaires were reinstated. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 29 for data
screening and descriptive analysis while for the verification of the developed model, smart PLS
4 was used. Table 1 shows that out of 436 data obtained, 100 (22.9%) were male respondents
while 336 (77.1%) were female respondents.
In hypothetical testing, The Structural Equation Model – Part Least Square (SEM-PLS) was
used in this study (Ringle et al., 2022). According to Hair et al. (2021) and Hair et al. (2017),
through PLS-SEM, measurement and Structural Model analysis can be done despite data
distribution abnormalities. To analyze the developed model, researchers used two
recommendation methods by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) which was the validity and
reliability analyses (Hair et al., 2019), followed by hypothetical testing developed through the
evaluation of structural models.
Measurement Model
Measurement Model test must be carried out first to assess the reliability values of each
item and the constructs studied in a model. Through Internal Consistency Reliability, the
loading value of the indicator was different from each other and produced a composite
Reliability (CR). According to Hair et al. (2014), the CR value should be between 0.7 and
0.9, while the value of average variance extracted (AVE) should exceed 0.5 (Hair et al.,
2017). In this study, there were several values of indicators that have to be discarded in
order to increase the value of AVE. According to Hair et al. (2016), indicators with an
outer loading value ranging from 0.4 to 0.7 can be considered to be maintained if the CR
value has reached 0.7 and the AVE exceeds 0.5. However, if the indicator value is below
0.4, then the indicator should be discarded. Table 2 shows that the AVE value was above
0.5 and the CR value was above 0.7; and there was some loading value below 0.7 because
the CR value has reached the specified value.
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5374 Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management among Youth in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Resilience
Table 4: Cross-Loading.
Authentic Conflict
Items Resilience
Leadership Management
C1 0.618 0.389 0.385
C13 0.716 0.453 0.461
C14 0.802 0.522 0.567
C15 0.807 0.516 0.498
C16 0.697 0.407 0.441
C7 0.736 0.487 0.445
F10 0.531 0.624 0.780
F11 0.521 0.594 0.816
F12 0.362 0.467 0.713
F13 0.379 0.435 0.676
F16 0.358 0.379 0.665
F17 0.406 0.456 0.719
F19 0.311 0.349 0.606
F21 0.412 0.484 0.721
F23 0.312 0.325 0.614
F24 0.497 0.504 0.763
F25 0.516 0.534 0.685
F5 0.526 0.575 0.748
F7 0.479 0.468 0.671
F8 0.551 0.605 0.792
F9 0.548 0.587 0.716
G1 0.506 0.751 0.517
G12 0.436 0.685 0.401
G15 0.486 0.716 0.518
G20 0.415 0.665 0.425
G22 0.461 0.751 0.517
G23 0.525 0.823 0.650
G4 0.481 0.808 0.548
G5 0.512 0.822 0.617
G7 0.368 0.574 0.425
Table 5: Fornell-Larker.
Construct Authentic leadership Conflict management Resilience
Authentic leadership 0.732
Conflict management 0.635 0.737
Resilience 0.641 0.706 0.715
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Structural Model
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5376 Authentic Leadership and Conflict Management among Youth in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Resilience
Discussion
This study aimed to identify resilience as a mediator between authentic leadership and conflict
management. Through empirical findings two initial assumptions have been made where there
was a significant relationship between authentic leadership and conflict management while
resilience was the mediator of these two variables. The hypothesis model and relationship were
tested using structural model. Through the first finding, the analysis showed that there was a
significant relationship between authentic leadership and conflict management. This showed
that youths who have leadership qualities in themselves are individuals who are able to handle
the various situations they face. The findings of this study are in line with the findings of
Demirdag and Kalaf (2016); Fotohabadi and Kelly (2018); and Hamilton (2018) that individuals
with an authentic leadership style are individuals who are able to influence themselves and
those around them to manage conflict effectively. The youth are the future leaders who are
also the leaders of their peers in institutions of higher learning. Authentic leadership is seen as
a leadership style that is able to provide cognitive support and enhance a trusted environment
(Xiao & Huang, 2023). An authentic leader is a leader who is able to understand himself, has
strong beliefs and self-esteem, acts based on good moral values and always maintains
relationships with people around him where relationships are open, guides towards
organizational objectives and always encourages development of his followers (Gardner et al.,
2005). This is because, authentic leadership is a leadership style that aims to form the trust of
members in the organization (Baron, 2016). The trust that is formed is able to create a positive
environment which in turn is able to create positive self-development between the leader and
his followers.
In educational institutions, according to Selznick et al. (2020), the youth should strive to be
more innovative in solving the problems faced. The challenges and conflicts faced by the youth
while at the study centres are different compared to when at school. This is because, the roles
and responsibilities faced while at the institute of higher education are increasingly heavy which
affects the youth to have the skills to manage their conflicts. According to Pal (2019), the higher
the role played by the individual, the higher the level of conflict management required.
According to Ilgan (2020), an educational institute is an institution that contains individuals
who have differences in values, beliefs and philosophies so that conflict is inevitable. Therefore,
individuals who have a leadership style play a role in influencing the conflict management of
members in the organization (Akanji et al., 2018; Chandolia & Anastasiou, 2020; & Kiran et
al., 2019).
In addition, through the second hypothesis, the findings showed that resilience is a mediator
between authentic leadership and conflict management. This means that youths who have
leadership qualities in themselves are able to manage the conflicts they face through the
resilience inherent in them. This is in line with the findings of the Tosun and Dilmac (2015)
study which found that the level of resilience in a person will determine which style of conflict
management to choose. The youths who have resilience are youths who are able to overcome
the challenges and obstacles faced (MacGilivray & Pidgeon, 2015; Omar & Abdullah, 2020). A
study from Amzil (2023) which also goes hand in hand with the findings of this study found
that students who are resilient while at university always show seriousness in overcoming
negative emotions, while the less resilient people always avoid and stay away from the problems
they are facing which affect their self-achievement. Therefore, the youths at the university
should be exposed to the resilience skills in order to develop the potential leadership
characteristics in themselves and thus be able to manage the conflicts faced wisely.
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Mohamad, et al.5377
Summary
Through this study it can be proven that authentic leadership characteristics can help in conflict
management with resilience as the mediator among the youths in the university. Each group of
youths is different from each other. Youths with leadership characteristics are able to influence
their peers to be wise in managing conflicts. This is because the youths are not only the leaders
of the current leadership, but they are also leaders among their peers. The role of the youths in
the university is not only to gain knowledge but also to prepare for life after graduation. Youths
should be able to develop their potential by participating in the programmes organized by the
university. Through the participation of programs at the university level, they can indirectly
learn the basic skills to adapt to society. Skills to be resilient in the face of challenges can be
developed in the youth from time to time. Youths with leadership characteristics are able to
create a positive environment and emotions towards their surroundings. The result of positive
thoughts and emotions can produce youths who are able to manage conflicts well without
avoiding the conflict. Therefore, to produce holistic youths, skills such as leadership, conflict
management, resilience, communication, and empathy need to be possessed to adapt to the
environment and face challenges.
This study was a quantitative study. The data found in this study were based on questionnaires
that have been formed in western countries. Reliability analysis was carried out by researchers.
However, the results of the information and findings of the study were limited as it depended
on the honesty and willingness of the respondents to answer the questionnaire. Given the
findings obtained using survey tests, researchers suggest that further studies use other methods
to determine the influence of resilience on conflict management, such as observation
techniques and interviews. This study focused only on youths in higher learning institutions in
northern Malaysia. We suggest that future studies use other sampling techniques to diversify
the findings of the study.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of Malaysia
through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/SS06/UUM/02/4).
References
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