The Impact of Tyrannical Leadership on Creativity of Staff in Light of the Role of the Leader's Exchange and the Power Distance

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to answer the main research question on how authoritarian leadership affects employee creativity with regard to the role of leader exchange and power gap. Done.
Design / methodology / approach: This research is a quantitative and descriptive-correlational research component in terms of purpose, applied research. The statistical population of the study consisted of 460 managers and staffs of the Organization of Forests, Rangelands and Watersheds of Iran. 210 persons were used as the statistical sample and stratified random sampling method. Questionnaire was the main tool for data collection.
Findings: The findings showed that the leader-follower exchange mediated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and creativity with a path coefficient of 0.415 and a significant value of 5.43. Power gap with path coefficient of 0.224 and a significant value of 2.041 modulate the relationship between authoritarian leadership and leader-follower exchange. Also, authoritarian leadership with path coefficient of -0.595 and -5.731 significant, on employee creativity, authoritarian leadership with path coefficient of -0.87 and significant value of -17.28, on creativity of staff leadership exchange significant value of 6.28 affect the creativity of the staff.
Limitations and Consequences: Due to the multitude of research variables and the specific complexities of research, future research on other variables needs to be scrutinized to make the other variables' relationships more transparent and comprehensive. Ultimately, by adopting appropriate leadership, it enhances employee creativity.
Practical implications: By adopting the right leadership style in an organization by practicing leader exchange and power distance, employees increase creativity.
Originality or value of the article: This article examines the impact of authoritarian leadership on employee creativity with regard to the role of leader exchange and power distance. It also considers four variables (authoritarian leadership, staff creativity, leader exchange, and power gap) for the first time in managers and staff of the country's forest, rangeland and watershed organization.