TRANSFORMASI KEPEMIMPINAN PESANTREN (Studi Kasus di Pondok Pesantren Tremas Pacitan Jawa Timur)

Pesantren is one of the oldest and most influential Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia that plays an important role in the transmission of Islamic knowledge, character building, and the preservation of socio-religious values of the community. However, the dynamics of globalization, modernization of education, digitalization, and the demands of institutional governance require Islamic boarding schools to make adjustments, especially in leadership aspects. This study aims to examine leadership transformation in the Tremas Pacitan Islamic Boarding School, East Java, with a focus on the basis of transformation thinking, the dynamics of the transformation process, and leadership implementation strategies. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study type. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observations, and documentation studies, then analyzed interpretively through the process of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing to understand the dynamics of leadership transformation that occurred. The results of the study show that the leadership transformation in the Tremas Islamic Boarding School is rooted in the integration between the traditional legitimacy of the Islamic boarding school, the charismatic authority of the kiai, and the need for strategic adaptation to institutional changes. The process of transformation takes place gradually, contextually, and negotiatively through a dialectic between the values of the scientific tradition (turāṯ), genealogical legitimacy, and modern managerial demands. The dynamics of leadership transformation are marked by a shift from a charismatic personalistic leadership pattern to institutional collective leadership, without eliminating the position of the kiai as the highest moral and spiritual authority. The leadership transformation strategy includes strengthening institutional structures, distributing competency-based roles, developing formal education units, and selective adoption of a modern governance and administration system that remains based on the identity of the Islamic boarding school. Based on these findings, this study formulated the Hybrid Transformational Leadership Model in Islamic Boarding School, which is a leadership model that combines the power of traditional legitimacy with institutional governance innovations to ensure the sustainability and development of Islamic boarding schools in an era of dynamic social change. This model emphasizes that the leadership transformation of salaf Islamic boarding schools is evolutionary, not disruptive, by placing tradition as the main source of legitimacy for sustainable change. Theoretically, the findings of this study strengthen the relevance of the transformational leadership theory put forward by James MacGregor Burns and developed by Bernard M. Bass in the context of pesantren leadership. However, the transformation process does not stand as a mere modern change, but is rooted in the traditional legitimacy of the kiai and the socio-religious structure of the pesantren. At the same time, it practically provides strategic insight for the leadership of Islamic boarding schools that face contemporary educational challenges.