Abstract Lack of effective leadership is not only seen in economic organizations but also in education departments and all other institutions. What sometimes results in issues for some organizations is people, such as incompatible leaders, who do not play their critical role of leadership effectively and efficiently. The present applied and descriptive-correlational study aims to investigate the relationship between incompatible leadership and job plateau, burnout, and stress in first- and second-grade high school teachers. The statistical population of the research included all first- and second-grade high school teachers (1972). Accordingly, 322 individuals were selected as the research sample using the simple random sampling method. Data collection tools were Schmidt Incompatible Leadership Questionnaire (2008), Milliman Occupational Plateau Questionnaire (1992), Maslach Occupational Burnout Questionnaire (1985), and Sargi Job Stress Questionnaire (2015). The reliability of the questionnaires was 0.81, 0.90, 0.84, and 0.76, respectively, using Cronbach's alpha; the content validity was also confirmed. Data were analyzed using univariate t, correlation coefficient, and stepwise regression. Findings showed incompatible leadership of managers and occupational burnout and stress in school teachers to be at a low level, while their plateau was at a high level. Moreover, a positive and significant relationship was observed between incompatible leadership and job plateau and burnout of teachers; however, there was no relationship between incompatible leadership and job stress. Among components of incompatible leadership, authoritarian leadership could predict job plateau, abusive supervision and authoritarian leadership could predict job burnout, and abusive supervision could predict job stress. Thus, it is recommended that school principals reduce the stress, plateau, and burnout of teachers, as well as identifying the components of incompatible leadership and avoiding them in schools.
