HOW DO MANAGER’S LEADERSHIP SKILLS AFFECT EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECTOR INSTITUTIONS IN EAST JERUSALEM IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

Hamzeh Moufid Rafiq Qaissi

Abstract


This article seeks to explore the effect of managers’ leadership skills on employees’ performance in East Jerusalem public sector organizations within the era of Digital transformation and AI Adoption. Within this context, public sector organizations succeeding doesn’t depend only on the existence of digital systems or latest technological capabilities, but is highly related to managers' ability to lead the change, guide and motivate employees, develop skills, and reduce their resistance to digital transformation. The Study used the Qualitative method as the most suitable approach to understanding real experiences and deep meanings provided by managers and employees, defining the relationship between leadership, technology, and organizational performance. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants from public sector organizations in East Jerusalem that allowed understanding the nature of work before digital transformation, the influence of using digital systems on work procedures, employees’ responses, the role of leaders to support transformation, as well as local challenges that affect performance, productivity, and motivation. The Study concentrated on five main leadership skills: strategic, interpersonal, digital, adaptive and ethical skills. Results showed that these skills don’t work separately but complement each other to encourage the ability of leaders to affect employee performance. Also, results showed that digital transformation contributes to speeding task execution, reducing paper reliance, enhancing information accessibility, reducing mistakes, developing documentation procedures and follow-up. The study also revealed that local context in East Jerusalem plays a significant role in the nature of the relationship between leadership and performance. Public institutions in this area face challenges related to limited resources, changing directives, political and administrative pressures, difficulty in institutional stability, as well as varying readiness of employees to use technology. The study offers practical recommendations for managers and decision-makers, emphasizing the need to develop leadership training programs that combine digital competence, human-centered leadership, change management, and the ability to handle local context challenges. It concludes that technology alone doesn't drive performance; it's conscious leadership that gives technology its organizational meaning and turns it into a tool to improve productivity, work quality, and motivation.

Keywords


leadership skills, employee performance, public sector, East Jerusalem, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, digital leadership, change management, motivation, productivity, quality service, adaptive and interpersonal skills

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i7.6861

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