LEADER STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE INSTITUTION’S COMPETITIVENESS: LEARNING FROM ISLAMIC EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN INDONESIA

Islamic Education Institutions in Indonesia are currently required to have strong competitiveness if they want to survive in the global era. The growing number of educational institutions each year causes competition to become more intense; hence, the leaders of Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia must have a strategy on how to increase the competitiveness of institutions so that they can become the people’s choice. This study aims to reveal the various strategies of leaders of Islamic education institutions that are able to maintain the electability of their institutions, with a focus on the competitiveness of institutions that are continuously being improved. The research was conducted at two private Islamic educational institutions, Al-Hikmah and Al-Izzah. The research was carried out using a qualitative case study type approach with a multi-site design. The results of the research show the leadership’s strategic steps in increasing the competitiveness of institutions, including Benchmarking, Differentiation, Empowerment and Partnership. The various strategic steps implemented can be a reference and guideline for managers of educational institutions to make institutions that have strong competitiveness.