Shaping Leadership Competence through Sociocultural-Political Awareness and Resilient Grit

Leadership competence is crucial for the success of schools and the achievement of educational outcomes, requiring leaders to navigate complex administrative and instructional demands. This study investigated the relationship between sociocultural-political influences, grit, and leadership competence among school leaders in the Division of Valencia City during the second quarter of the school year 2024-2025. Using a descriptive-correlational design, data were collected from 115 school leaders through validated instruments, including the Sociocultural-Political Influence Scale, the Grit Scale, and the Leadership Competence Inventory. The findings revealed that sociocultural-political influences significantly shaped leadership practices, with social influences, cultural cohesion, and political dynamics playing key roles. However, social influences occasionally posed challenges, requiring careful management. Grit, particularly resilience, perseverance of effort, and long-term commitment, emerged as critical traits that empower leaders to adapt and persist despite challenges. Leadership competence was high across areas such as decision-making, rapport-building, and strategic thinking, aligning closely with intrinsic grit and external sociocultural contexts. Correlation analysis confirmed that grit had the strongest positive relationship with leadership competence, followed by cultural cohesion and political influences. Resilience was identified as the strongest predictor of leadership competence, emphasizing the importance of fostering intrinsic traits to enhance effectiveness.