Development of Modern Leadership Among Executives in Royal Irrigation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

Abstract

         This research aims to 1) Study the modern leadership levels of the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, focusing on six main components: leading change, spiritual leadership, visionary leadership, strategic visionary leadership, digital visionary leadership, and effective communication skills.  2) Analyze the confirmatory factors of modern leadership among the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department, focusing on the same six components.  3) Develop policy recommendations for enhancing the modern leadership of the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department. This study employs a mixed-methods research approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research. In the quantitative research, the sample consists of 440 civil servants from the Royal Irrigation Department, with the sample size determined using a criterion of 20 times the number of observed variables. A multi-stage sampling method was used, and data was collected using questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. For the qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants, including high-level executives from the Royal Irrigation Department and experts in modern leadership, totaling 20 individuals.
        The research findings revealed that: 1) The modern leadership of the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department, in the six main components, is at a high level. 2) The confirmatory factor analysis of the modern leadership of the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department, in the six main components, showed good alignment with the empirical data, with fit indices as follows: χ2 = 349.21, df = 176, p-value = .00000, χ2/df = 1.98, RMSEA = .047, RMR = .029, SRMR = .035, CFI = .99, GFI = .93, AGFI = .90, CN = 272.40. The modern leadership of the executives consists of six main components with standardized factor loadings ranging between .90 - .99, which are statistically significant at the .05 level. 3) The policy recommendations for developing modern leadership among the executives of the Royal Irrigation Department, developed by the researcher, are named the SLTML Model. The Royal Irrigation Department can use this model to develop a digital leadership training curriculum to transform the organization into a smart organization capable of effectively responding to changes and growth in the digital world in the future.