Abstract

In this study, teachers' perceptions of leaders' inclusive leadership skills were examined to improve their work performance. This study employed a survey research design of a quantitative approach.  A sample of 389 teachers of public universities of Sindh, Pakistan, was drawn through a stratified random sampling technique. This study revealed that the heads could play a fundamental role in teachers' job performance by facilitating need-based intervention based on teachers' capacities and innovative attitudes. However, the study findings suggest a shift in the university's organizational structure by listening openly and being accessible, available in diverse situations. Further, the null hypothesis was accepted that both genders have the same opinions about the level of inclusive leadership qualities and viewed that heads' Inclusive leadership (IL) style can enhance proactive behavior of faculty members. Researchers found the theoretical and practical implications for future studies.

Key Words

Inclusive Leadership, Tertiary Teachers, Current Practices, Teachers' Performance

Introduction

In today's world, the nature of work is changing increasingly (Hirschi, 2018; Kost et al., 2020); with the rising fast-changing world and trends for jobs, performance challenges us to dynamic activism. One must be capable of moving with the requirements of time and tides because current developments economically rapid advancement in technologies and globalization – have altered the working context significantly and introduced changes in managing an individual's jobs and performances (Davis, 2020). These changes affect the individual's career development (Farid, 2019) by the Leaders' essential role in devising and structuring numerous efforts to ensure that everyone is included at work (Holck, 2018; Miller & Barbour, 2014). In this connection, many studies were conducted for promotions of high-quality leadership. These studies focused on effective leadership and leading styles (Khair, 2021; Khan et al., 2021, Longman & Anderson, 2016; Sayadi, 2016). 

Over the past decade, educational intuitions have faced different obstacles and stresses regarding poor leadership of the heads for employees' job performance. Especially the higher education institutions of Pakistan face problems due to the absence of proper and effective leadership for crafting or managing faculty members' jobs. Human resources are available, but heads cannot help groom their workforces (Arif & Nawaz, 2020; Binti Mosbiran, et al., 2020). The employees' skills and proactive behavior are essential to do any job in this demanding environment, and they are the critical factor for universities to survive. It was also suggested by (Waheeda 2019) that Higher education institutions need well-equipped leadership in all areas. Strong leadership will boost these institutions, and high-quality outcomes (commitment, inspiration, performance, efficiency, and decentralization of powers for employees) only result from effective and efficient leadership. 

In addition, it was highlighted by government and international agencies (OECD, 2013; Choi et al., 2014; Mason & Matas, 2015; Özç?nar, 2015) that encouraging, supporting, motivating, and training workforces of higher education institutions (HEIs) to stay inside the institution has become a challenge for administration and management. As per The National Faculty Development Program (2020) criteria, employees are obligated to have professional learning under the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan policies. They should bounce back in diverse situations at the organization (Shafi et al., 2020).

In this connection, it becomes incumbent on us to have an inclusive leadership style to overcome these obstacles. It helps balance every aspect – even leaders adapt rapidly to various settings and viewpoints with Openness, Accessibility, availability, and non-judgmental thinking. The most significant possible outcomes may be achieved in boosting employees' tasks in changing situations. 

After the literature review researcher found that in the Pakistani context, there is a need to survey the relationship of the inclusive leadership style of heads and teachers' performance at the university level in Sindh, Pakistan, afterward a review of all international and national-related literature, the researcher finds a gap. A single study has investigated the impact of inclusive leadership style on career adaptability (Shabeer, Nasir & Rehman, 2020). Therefore, based on male and female teachers' opinions about inclusive leadership style, this research study explores the tertiary teachers' perceptions of inclusive leadership exiting practices. 

Literature Review

Shore et al. (2011) suggested that two aspects of leadership would minimize the employee's workplace challenges. These aspects are feelings of individual uniqueness and belonging (both are dimensions of inclusive leadership). Employees are appreciated and recognized based on unique characteristics (dimension of uniqueness). They also feel important in their organizations (dimension of belonging), work outcomes such as retention, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction enhanced. Further, it is also argued (Javed et al., 2019) that multicultural literature focuses on inclusive Leadership (IL) for better performance outcomes. An extensive range of researches have proved this proposition; developing an inclusive organization, especially in diverse scenarios, results in positive outputs such as increased job satisfaction, innovation, creativity, proactive behavior, trust, and wellbeing (Brimhall et al., 2014; Mor Barak et al., 2016).

Nevertheless, evidence of the teachers was taken that inclusive leadership style is beneficial for teachers performance and positive outcomes of universities level. Limited studies are known about the impact of leaders on the proactive performance of the employees at the workplace, exclusively in diverse contexts (Cottrill et al., 2014; Rehman, 2020), and withstand quickly (Malik & Ameen, 2021) is facing the adverse situations. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the tertiary teachers' perceptions about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership in their institutions.




Inclusive Leadership 

Inclusive leadership was suggested in management (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006). They stated that inclusive leadership is "words and deeds by a leader or leaders that indicate an invitation and appreciation for others' contributions." Subsequently, IL was characterized by Hollander (2012) as a "win-win" scenario with a mutual aim of dependent relations. In addition, he underlined the important part of employees' and leaders' perspectives of leadership. According to Ospina (2011), an inclusive leader is responsible for outcomes and valued and accepted workers at all levels of the organization (Shore & Chung, 2021).

Furthermore, inclusive leadership was first devised by. Nembhard and Edmondson. (2006) and. Nishii and Mayer (2009) refer to leader practices that encouraged and valued input from others to mold team members' opinions that "their voices are generally respected. "Inclusive leadership refers to the "leaders who deal with openness, accessibility, and availability with followers." An inclusive leader fosters good personnel outcomes such as team performance by creating a favorable situational environment (Mitchell et al., 2015), work engagement (Choi et al., 2016), employee promotive. and prohibitive. Voice behavior. (Guo et al., 2020), change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (Younas et al., 2020), psychological safety (Hirak et al., 2012), employee wellbeing, and innovative behavior (Carmeli et al., 2010; Nishii, 2018). 

However, contemporary approaches and theories of leadership such as servant Leadership (SL), shared Leadership (SL), ethical Leadership (EL), participative leadership (PL), and authentic leadership(AL) merged their concepts and focused on the emergence of new Leadership thinking (Mitchell et al., 2015; Northouse, 2021) that is called 'inclusive leadership.  It is one of the latest leadership areas. Nonetheless, few endeavors have been made to define inclusive leadership as a leadership style precisely in line with of study of Nembhard and Edmondson (2006) and Nishii (2013). They claimed that "leader inclusiveness" is described as "the words and actions of a leader that show the respect for the contributions of others' work" (Khuwaja et al., 2020; Lai et al., 2020; Tian et al., 2020; Khuwaja et al., 2020). As stated earlier, the inclusive leadership style has received minimal research attention, even in the diversity literature (Khan et al., 2020; Randel et al., 2018). It is the first study exploring teachers' perception of current practices examining inclusive leadership levels based on a literature review.

Theoretical Background of Inclusive Leadership

The "Leader-Member Exchange" LMX theory gives an essential theoretical lens of the conduct of leaders that contributes to the intended outcome of their employees (Herman et al., 2013). The theory highlights that "leaders and supporters create reciprocal ties (partnerships) and therefore have access to many of those relationships which bring about the most successful leadership procedures" (Graen and Uhl-Bien 1995; Volmer et al., 2012). This theory, therefore, enables us to explain how inclusive leadership promotes trust, mutual obligation, respect, and collaboration between leaders and subordinates and eventually improves the wellbeing of employees (Chen & Hou, 2016; Omilion-Hodges & Baker, 2013; Volmer et al., 2012). Additionally, the LMX Theory conceptualized how inclusive leadership supports strong, reciprocal learning-based interactions between the leaders and workers and encourages leaders to provide better circumstances to participate in innovative and proactive behavior for employees in a broad range of needs and preferences (Avolio and Gardner, 2005; Chen & Hou, 2016; Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995). 

As demonstrated by inclusive leadership, Volmer et al. (2012) also supported LMX recognized leadership by focusing on relational interactions between leaders and subordinates. Further studies (Herman et al., 2018; Zhao, Liu, Li, Yu, 2019) also stated that LMX has a beneficial effect on creative work performance by improving the behavior of inclusive leaders towards employees, such as support, task-related recognition, and obligation (Herman et al., 2013). 

Furthermore, LMX challenges employees to complete complicated jobs and engage in increased risk-taking via inclusive leadership. Likewise, according to organizational support theory (Baran, Shanock & Miller, 2012; Kurtessis et al., 2017), employees' perceptions of good treatment from the company, such as supervisor support, should boost job performance. According to organizational support theory, an inclusive leader might benefit subordinates. Inclusive leaders' supportive actions assisted subordinates' perceptions that their contributions were appreciated and sympathy for their wellbeing (Krishnan & Mary, 2012) and should boost proactive behavior among workers.

As supported by the social exchange theory (Wu & Lee, 2017), emphasized the reciprocal relationship between leader and follower. The inclusion of employees by inclusive leaders and organizations in different tasks and decision-making processes can improve their work performance and make them more motivated. They were being involved in innovative behavior.  




Inclusive Leadership and its Dimensions

This study was based on university teachers' perceptions about the current practices of their leaders' styles in their institution. Carmeli et al. (2015) Edmondson (2004) suggested that when inclusive leadership style exhibits dimensions of Openness, availability, and Accessibility, they are likely to facilitate psychological development. It may help employees reduce uncertainty and ambiguity of their roles, and capabilities are enhanced to meet job requirements (Choi et al., 2015; Thompson & Matkin, 2020). Second is availability; through inclusive leadership that reinforces the notion that employees' strengths and job needs are complementary, a supportive work environment may be created (Bhutto et al., 2020; Case et al., 2018; Tims et al., 2016). The third dimension is Accessibility; when leaders listen to employees, they can discuss new ways to achieve them, and they can be motivated and encourage and ignore failure in a supportive working environment. Karatepe and Vatankhah (2014) illustrate that workers' person-job fit is promoted by motivation and derived from a positive work environment to support this idea.

Moreover, the research of Herman et al. (2018) has also argued that the team members of the educational institutions emulate leaders who possess the quality of Accessibility for employees because when leaders are accessible to employees, they feel safe. The leader is open, available, and accessible to followers, which may boost (Umair et al., 2019) the employees' job satisfaction (Hollander, 2012). The employees' work engagement and (Choi et al., 2016) employee performance positively influences the organization's success (Hollander, 2009). The inclusive leader as head or the supervisor should be friendly, accessible, concerned with the needs of subordinates, tolerant of different viewpoints, and forgiving of faults to a certain level (Vareilles et al., 2017; Zeng, Zhao & Zhao, 2020). 

Fang et al. (2019) proposed a novel concept based on recent literature and observational studies. In the modern century, he instilled inclusive leadership's dimensions; "encouragement and recognition to employees, respect and fair treatment for employees, and failure tolerance" into leaders' leadership activities. These dimensions focus on the organization developing a team and working collectively to achieve the organizational goals. Inclusive leaders should demonstrate recognition, appreciation, and tolerance for their workers and listen to and appreciate their subordinates' views and efforts. They can also encourage their employees' job success (Liu et al., 2018; Rahimnia & Sharifirad, 2015). Inclusive leaders should listen to workers' perspectives, emphasize employee motivation, and demonstrate appreciation as employees achieve success (Dezenberg, 2017).  

According to Zhou et al. (2018), the dimension of encouragement and recognition to employees can lead to creative working behaviors in an innovative setting through heads' motivation, encouragement, and recognition rather than organizational demands and orders (Dudley-Marling  & Dudley-Marling, 2020; Hakimian, Farid & Ismall, 2016; Hollander, 2012). Additionally, the dimension of respect and fair treatment for employees supported that heads treated workforces fairly, considered their requirements and benefits, and had an empathetic behavior toward employees.

Inclusive leadership best places on equal opportunities and equitable representation and recognizes workers' interests. Respect and fair treatment for employees could inspire a sense of responsibility; their confidence increases when they receive their leaders' support and respect. They show more volunteer activities and utilize their potential actively to accomplish their objective to increase innovative skills and awareness. Leaders acknowledge and train employees by valuing and concentrating on training and praising employees rather than envy.

Furthermore, the dimension failure tolerance of inclusive leadership explained the leaders respected the opinions and tolerated employees' mistakes by carefully listening to their ideas, logically enduring their errors, and providing guidance, encouraging and supporting the employees in making mistakes. Inclusive leadership places a best on equal opportunities and equitable representation and recognizes workers' interests, and it is a different breed of democratic leadership. Many studies found that inclusive understanding of leadership for leaders and employees improves the performance of the employees and achieves the organizational goals successfully (Rahim-Dillard, 2020).

Therefore this study also aims to identify the effects of different dimensions; "openness, availability, and accessibility, encouragement & recognition to employees, respect &  fair treatment for employees, and failure tolerance" that is proposed by (Carmeli et al., 2010; Fang et al., 2019) And the primary purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of teachers/faculty members about current practices of inclusive leadership style in different departments of university level in Sindh Pakistan. No study has been done to assess the six dimensions of inclusive leadership style together in public universities of Sindh province in Pakistan. 

However, there was no evidence on whether their leaders adopted inclusive leadership style or not and how teachers' knowledge and perceptions about the daily practices and roles of the inclusive leadership style of the heads. This study investigates how their relationship with their heads or deans affects daily performance in diverse situations and challenging environments. After a review of the literature, the objective of this paper is to explore male and female teachers' perceptions about the level of current practices of heads styles in public universities of Sindh. 

Methodology

Respondents and Procedure

This study approach is deductive. The research is a (quantitative) mono method based on primary data. This quantitative approach employs a survey research design. The population of this study comprised of teachers of eleven public universities from all divisions of Sindh, Pakistan, and four hundred and ten teachers has participated.  The random sampling technique was used that comprised of teachers of both genders.  Two measured scales of Carmeli et al. (2010) and Fang et al. (2019) merged in one scale to collect the data. There two research instruments were duly sought permission to be potent measuring instruments. These instruments were validated with the help of subject and language experts and piloted before collecting data. 389 out of 460 questionnaires were returned, resulting in an 84.56 percent response rate.

The merged scale of inclusive leadership comprised 16 items. The dimensions Openness consist three items; availability consists of three items, Accessibility consists of two items, encouragement and recognition comprised of three items, respect, and fair treatment is consisting two items, and failure tolerance consists of three items. A five-point Likert scale was used, with "Strongly Disagree" = 1 to "Strongly Agree" = 5. Past studies have shown that these instrument has been validated by various studies in several countries separately. Still, it is not validated as merging two scales adopted with permission from Carmeli et al. (2010) and Fang et al. (2019) in the Pakistani context. The overall alpha reliability for the constructs was 0.929.




Data Analysis

Profile of Participants

Table 1 provides the details of the participants, which include both male (60%) and female (40%) teachers. The participants with both genders having academic qualifications (14%) master's degree, (48%) M.Phil. degree, (35%) Ph.D., (2%) post-Doc and (1%) others. Participants with the professional degree having B.Ed. degree (23%), M.Ed. (35%), (9%) ICMA, (9%) ICAP and other (24%). The designation was also included (46%) participants are lecturers, (25%) Assistant professors, (07%) Associate professors, (4%) Professors, (8%), cooperative teachers, (5%) contract teachers, and (5%) others teachers. Experience includes (40%) participants have 0-05, (47%) participants 6-10, (09%) participants 11-15 and (04%) participants more than 15 years. The (70%) participants' teachers were married, and (30%) were unmarried teachers.

Results and Discussion

Convergent Validity of the Inclusive leadership Style

Table 1 shows that PLS algorithm results of the inclusive leadership construct. Factor loadings with benchmark value can measure convergent validity is more than 0.7, composite reliability (CR) cut off value is 0.7 that indicating the internal consistency of all constructs, Cronbach's Alpha value is also more than 0.7 (Santos, 1999), and average variance extracted (AVE) cut off value is 0.5 (Hair et al., 2013). The convergent validity of these constructs ensures and meets the threshold values. The value of external loadings of indicators is more than 0.7, which means items simultaneously loaded on their constructs, Cronbach's Alpha also meets the threshold value is more than 0.7, composite reliability is between the range from 0.847 to 0.919, and AVE is in the range 0.678 to 0.868, which means the value is acceptable. It is concluded to ensure all constructs' convergent validity (Hair et al., 2014; Russell et al., 1978).




Table 1. Convergent Validity of Inclusive leadership Questionnaire

Construct	Items	Loadings	Cronbach's Alpha	CR	AVEa
Openness	OP_1	0.748	0.751	0.857	0.678
	OP_2	0.940
	OP_3	0.921
Availability	AV_1	0.876	0.795	0.868	0.622
	AV_2	0.772
	AV_3	0.715
	AV_4	0.784
Accessibility	ACC_1	0.919	0.824	0.919	0.851
	ACC_2	0.926
Encouragement & Recognition to Employees	ERE_1	0.820	0.838	0.902	0.754
	ERE_2	0.905
	ERE_3	0.877
Respect & Fair Treatment for employees	RFT_1	0.911	0.789	0.905	0.826
	RFT_2	0.907
Failure Tolerance	FT_1	0.867	0.829	0.898	0.745
	FT_2	0.907
	FT_3	0.899

 




Discriminant Validity of Inclusive leadership Style

Based on discriminant validity "Quality Criteria" Fornell and Larcker (1981),  analysis of correlation matrix can be assessed for checking that whether every item loads more greatly on its construct rather than on other constructs (Chin, 1998). The benchmark value of the average variance extracted (AVE) of a construct must be greater than the square root of the correlations among the constructs. In a nutshell, all constructs contribute to more variation than other indicators with their associated indicators (Hair et al., 2014). Therefore, all constructs of inclusive leadership were proven adequately different from each other.




 

Table 2. Correlations for Discriminant Validity (Fornell-Larcker Criterion)

	OP	AV	ACC	ERE	RFT	FT
Openness	0.823
Availability	0.609	0.789
Accessibility	0.716	0.792	0.922
Encouragement & Recognition to Employees	0.553	0.539	0.569	0.868
Respect &Fair Treatment for Employees	0.424	0.395	0.429	0.750	0.909
Failure Tolerance	0.369	0.543	0.470	0.605	0.745	0.863

 




Current practices of Inclusive Leaders at Tertiary Level (Hypothesis Testing)

Hypothesis

H_0:  There is no statistical variance between the mean score about the opinions of current practices of the inclusive leadership style of male faculty members and female faculty members' exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level.

Table 3 shows the descriptive statistics of two groups about variables. The values of openness construct is (Mean: Male=3.510, Female= 3.354; SD: Male=0.900, Female=0.934). The results show the same opinion of both genders about the openness construct that is acceptable range was as suggested by (Aslam & Khan, 2021; Oja, 1983). Further the values of availability construct is (Mean: Male=3.648, Female= 3.617; SD: Male=.732, Female=.709). The findings of this study reveal a positive association between the opinions of both genders about the availability construct. Moreover, the values of accessibility construct is (Mean: Male=3.627, Female= 3.453; SD: Male=1.045, Female=0.816). The results reveal the same opinion of male and female teachers about accessibility construct.

Likewise, the values of encouragement and recognition to employees construct is (Mean: Male=3.531, Female= 3.427; SD: Male=.964 Female=.924). The results reveal a positive and significant relationship between the opinion of male and female teachers about encouragement and recognition to employees construct. Similarly, the values of Respect and Fair Treatment for Employees construct is (Mean: Male=3.042, Female= 3.125; SD: Male=1.072, Female=1.191). The results reveal the same opinion of male and female teachers about respect and fair treatment for Employees construct.

By the same token, the values of failure tolerance construct is (Mean: Male=3.141, Female= 3.187; SD: Male=.918, Female=1.033). The results reveal the same opinion of both genders about the failure tolerance construct. It is concluded that faculty members (male and female teachers) have information about the inclusive leadership style, and they know about the exiting practices of leaders or heads.




 

Table 3. Gender Opinion about exciting Teachers’ Perceptions about Inclusive Leadership Style

S.No	Variable	Gender	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean
1	Openness	Male	233	3.510	.900	.131
		Female	156	3.354	.934	.165
2	Availability	Male	233	3.648	.732	.106
		Female	156	3.617	.709	.125
3	Accessibility	Male	233	3.627	1.045	.152
		Female	156	3.453	.816	.144
4	Encouragement and Recognition to Employees	Male	233	3.531	.964	.140
		Female	156	3.427	.924	.163
5	Respect and Fair Treatment for employees	Male	233	3.042	1.072	.156
		Female	156	3.125	1.191	.210
6	Failure Tolerance	Male	233	3.141	.918	.134
		Female	156	3.187	1.033	.182

 




Current practices of Inclusive Leaders at Tertiary Level

Mentioning to table 4 of critical t values revealed that at alpha = 0.05 and degree of freedom df = 387. The tabulated value of Openness is t= .747, which is greater than the computed value t= .458. That indicates no significant difference between the mean score about the opinions of both genders faculty members about openness construct about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level. Moreover, the tabulated value of availability is t= .191, more significant than the computed value t= .849. That indicates no significant difference between the mean score about the opinions of both gender faculty members about availability construct about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level. Furthermore, the tabulated value of Accessibility is t= .794, which is greater than the computed value t= .430. That indicates no significant difference between the mean score about the opinions of both genders faculty members about accessibility construct about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level.

Additionally, encouragement and recognition to employees' tabulated value are t= .482, more significant than the computed value t= .631, which indicates both genders have the same opinion because of the mean score of encouragement and recognition to employees construct about exiting practices of inclusive leadership is the same at tertiary level. Also, the tabulated value of respect and fair treatment for employees is t= -.321, more significant than the computed value t=.749, which indicates that both genders have the same opinion because an equal mean score of respect and fair treatment for employees construct about exiting practices of inclusive leadership is the same at tertiary level.

Similarly, the tabulated value of Failure tolerance is t= -.206, more significant than the computed value t=.837. It is concluded that all construct computed values are greater than the significant value (P < 0.05). That indicates that both genders have the same opinion because of the mean score of both genders about the failure tolerance construct about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level. Therefore, the H₀ is accepted. It is established that the opinions of both genders about exiting practices of inclusive leadership at the tertiary level and they have the same opinion about their heads' leadership style.




 

Table 4. Level of current practices of Inclusive Leaders at Tertiary Level

S.No	Construct	t-value	df	Sig.(2-tailed)	Mean Difference
1	Openness	.747	387	.458	.156
2	Available	.191	387	.849	.031
3	Accessible	.794	387	.430	.174
4	Encouragement and Recognition to Employees	.482	387	.631	.104
5	Respect and Fair Treatment for employees	-.321	387	.749	-.082
6	Failure Tolerance	-.206	387	.837	-.045

Discussion

This study aims to investigate the tertiary teachers' perceptions about exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership in public universities of Sindh. It was found that university teachers know current inclusive leadership style practices at the tertiary level. First, the study results conclude that teachers of public universities of Sindh have positive and same opinions about the inclusive leadership style of the heads, and it has a positive influence on teachers' performance (Proactive behaviors). Second, the six inclusive leadership style dimensions (Openness, availability, Accessibility, encouragement, and recognition of employees, Respect and Fair Treatment for employees, and Failure tolerance) have different influences on the teachers' performances. This study reveals that the teachers (both gender) have positive and same opinions about these dimensions that are in the acceptable range (Aslam & Khan, 2021; Oja, 1983). 

The results are supported by previous studies that suggested that inclusive leaders' attitudes and actions positively influence employees' workplace performance. Choi et al. (2017) state that Openness is the feature of an inclusive leader who may assist subordinates in minimizing their sense of uncertainty and ambiguity. If the head/boss is open to the employees and listens, they will discuss different ways of achieving goals (Carmeli et al., 2010; Randel et al., 2018; Sanda & Arthur, 2017; Zeng, Zhao & Zhao, 2020). Moreover, this research indicates that leading positive behavior of leaders contributes to the psychological safety of the workforce (Rich et al., 2010). As per prior research, the three elements of inclusive Leadership (Openness, accessibility, and availability) increase employee happiness by exchanging opinions with their leader and enhancing their knowledge and competence (Choi et al., 2017; Hughes et al., 2018). 

The study results show that the teachers have the same and positive opinions about Leaders' behavior that encourages and recognizes employees. As also align with previous studies, it significantly influences employees' outcomes and innovative thinking (Detert & Edmondson, 2011; Hollander, 2009; Guo, Zhu & Zhang, 2020; Liu et al., 2020). Furthermore, the current study found that teachers have positive opinions that the way leaders treat their staff with dignity and respect has a significant impact on their innovative performance. Additionally, this research provides detailed information about the level of inclusive leadership qualities of the leader at public universities of Sindh.

Similarly, the findings of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge by explaining the various dimensions of inclusive leadership. The teachers of universities also have positive opinions about the concept of the Failure Tolerance dimension of inclusive leadership. The previous literature and researches neglected the employees' errors during work (Guo et al., 2020; Olusadum & Anulika, 2018; Liu et al., 2020). Leaders should consider and accept employee mistakes rationally and appreciate their workers' errors to enhance motivation and encouragement among the employees.  Leaders can tolerate and understand their failure feelings that will be the type of inclusiveness leadership practices of the heads (Fang et al., 2019; Gotsis & Grimani, 2016; Randel et al., 2018; Shore et al., 2011).

Furthermore, the hypothesis of this study is accepted that there is no significant difference between the mean score about the opinions of male faculty members and female faculty members about the level of exiting practices of Inclusive Leadership at the tertiary level. They have the same opinion about their heads' leadership style that result is also supported by (Ayman et al., 2009; Arnold et al.,2015; Abukhait et al., 2019; Munir & Beh, 2019; Paustian-Underdahl et al., 2014;). It is argued that multicultural literature focused on inclusive leadership for better work outcomes (.Qi et al., 2019; Liu, 2016; Zubair et al., 2015). Inclusive leaders increase optimistic thoughts and attitudes in their workforce, motivating them to engage in innovative activities (Liu, 2018; Wang et al., 2015; Wong et al., 2019).

Practical Implications

The findings support the rational use of the inclusive leadership style and give full attention to university faculty members. The results provide the best source for employing the inclusive leadership style at the universities level to boost the employees' performance. This study provides theoretical foundations and implications for future research. It also adds and extends studies on the relationship between inclusive leadership and employees' innovative behavior and offers fresh new concepts and methods for human resource management among employees in educational sectors. This research study has implications for the management of human resources and the advancement of leadership styles in the modern era. Also, the findings provide leaders with clear recommendations on adopting an inclusive leadership style that can accept workers' unique qualities while also encouraging creative behavior to develop a more effective system of education in public universities of Sindh. In addition to being concerned about leadership style, university administrators should also be concerned about the performance of employees to get better outcomes (Aboramadan et al., 2021).  In a nutshell, excellent skills and qualities of leaders or heads may encourage proactive employee behavior by facilitating, acknowledging, appreciating, involving, and treating them fairly (Javed et al., 2018; Zubair et al., 2015).

Conclusion

The overall success of the institutes relies on the shoulders of educational leaders. (Toquero, 2020). Higher education institutions need well-equipped leadership in all areas. Strong leadership will boost these institutions, and high-quality outcomes only result from effective and efficient leadership. The administration of higher education institutions is seen as a source of optimism of educational outcomes, planning of strategies and policies, performance, efficiency, and decentralization of powers for employers (Al-Husseini & Elbeltagi, 2016; Rehman et al., 2013). As much literature described, inclusive leadership is a new emerging terminology of different leadership styles. This study has been conducted in higher education institutions (public Universities), where leadership crises have been for many years (Torlak & Kuzey, 2019). 

Consequently, this study conducted descriptive research to determine the level of inclusive leadership practices in educational institutions. The data was collected from university teachers from public universities of Sindh, and it was found that the teachers have significant and positive opinions about inclusive leadership. These findings supported prior empirical research (Liu, 2016; Ratnasari & Sutjahjor, 2019; Tang, 2016), which indicated that leader openness and support foster an inclusive culture.

Additionally, if the heads of departments or Deans at the university level adopt the inclusive leadership style, they can boost their teachers' performance and improve institutions' quality education and outcomes. Moreover, Leaders that are free, accessible, and available are more likely to support employees in improving their job efficiency and performance (Hollander, 2012, p. 3; Edmondson, 2004). Furthermore, the findings indicate a positive correlation between inclusive leadership and teacher performance.

Limitations and Future Research

This study's limitations must be addressed to facilitate future research. Firstly, the data were gathered from teachers of public universities of Sindh. Data can be collected from other sources, including the heads of departments, Deans, and non-teaching staff from public and private universities of Sindh. Data can be examined the impact of inclusive leadership on employees' proactive behavior in universities or other educational. Additionally, the study recommends that future research employ the framework in various academic settings and investigate other intervening processes that may control the relationship between inclusive leadership and its outcomes. Future research may study mediating and moderating variables that may intervene in the examined relationships between inclusive leadership and organizational factors (Ashikali et al., 2020; Karatepe et al., 2020).

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