The Sheik Leadership Model: An AI-Informed, Patience-Centered Framework for Sustainable Leadership in Higher Education

Authors

  • S.H. Sheik Mohamed Assistant Professor, Head, Department of Visual Communication, S.A College of Arts and Science, Chennai, India
  • Nirmala.M Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Communication, VISTAS, Chennai, India
  • G.C. Premnivas Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Communication, S.A College of Arts and Science, Chennai, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56127/ijml.v5i1.2616

Keywords:

Higher Education Leadership; Patience-Centered Leadership; Ethical Governance; Emotional Regulation; Mentorship-Oriented Leadership; Conceptual Leadership Model

Abstract

Leadership in higher education increasingly operates within complex governance structures marked by ethical accountability, emotional pressures, and long-term institutional responsibility. While prevailing leadership theories emphasize vision, service orientation, and moral conduct, patience remains underdeveloped as a core leadership construct. This study proposes the Sheik Leadership Model (SLM), an AI-informed, patience-centered leadership framework designed to explain sustainable leadership practices in higher education. Drawing on secondary literature and AI-assisted conceptual synthesis, the model reconceptualizes patience as an active regulatory mechanism that stabilizes ethical governance, emotional intelligence, mentorship effectiveness, and long-term institutional vision. Adopting a qualitative, conceptual research design, the study further enhances theoretical rigor through simple mathematical representation, illustrating patience as both a stabilizing multiplier and a threshold condition distinguishing reactive from sustainable leadership. The study contributes to leadership theory by positioning patience as a foundational mediator that supports decision-making consistency, institutional trust, and long-term sustainability in higher education leadership.

References

Ancona, D., Goodman, P. S., Lawrence, B. S., & Tushman, M. L. (2001). Time: A new research lens. Academy of Management Review, 26(4), 645–663. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.5393903

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.

Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self‐regulation, ego depletion, and motivation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1(1), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00001.x

Bolden, R., Petrov, G., & Gosling, J. (2012). Distributed leadership in higher education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 40(4), 432–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143212438216

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective. Academy of Management Review, 30(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2005.16387896

Bryman, A. (2007). Effective leadership in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 32(6), 693–710. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070701685114

Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 525–575. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308326083

Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Ethical leadership. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2, 409–434. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111237

Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self‐control and grit: Related but separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 319–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414541462

Eby, L. T., Allen, T. D., Evans, S. C., Ng, T., & DuBois, D. L. (2008). Does mentoring matter? A multidisciplinary meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(2), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.04.003

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press.

Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781

Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., & Harms, P. D. (2011). Leadership efficacy: Review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(4), 747–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.05.007

Middlehurst, R. (2013). Leadership and governance in higher education. Routledge.

Mohammed, S., & Nadkarni, S. (2011). Temporal diversity and team performance. Organizational Psychology Review, 1(3), 189–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041386610385810

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Sage Publications.

Schnitker, S. A. (2012). An examination of patience and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(4), 263–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2012.697185

Schnitker, S. A., & Emmons, R. A. (2007). Patience as a virtue. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3), 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701441344

Shattock, M. (2014). International trends in university governance. Routledge.

Tourish, D. (2013). The dark side of transformational leadership. Routledge.

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Pearson Education.

Downloads

Published

2026-02-24

Citation Check