WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN MATRIARK NOVEL BY SAMSIAH MOHD. NOR

The role of women is becoming more extensive in modern life including as a leader. Women also have their own leadership characteristics as men. Women’s leadership was also lifted in literary works such as the Matriark novel by Samsiah Mohd. Nor (2018). However, studies on the characteristics that make up the image of women’s leadership in the novel have not yet been brought into the focus of researchers of Malay literature. In this regard, this paper analyses female leadership in the Matriark novel using the transformational leadership theory pioneered by Burns (1978) and Bass (1990). The objective of this paper is to analyse the leadership characteristics that form the image of women as leaders in the Matriark novel. The research methodology involves a qualitative approach that includes two methods, namely library research and content analysis. Library research is conducted to obtain information related to leadership from various reference sources such as journal papers, theses and scholarly books. Content analysis on Matriark novel is conducted through intensive reading techniques, interpretation and analysis based on the transformational leadership theory. The results of the study found that the characteristics that build the image of female leadership in the Matriark novel can be analysed based on four dimensions, namely charisma, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and individual consideration. As a conclusion, the novel lifts the image of Malay women as a quality organisational leader who is not only committed to transforming his organization but at the same time, committed to transforming and developing his followers.