This study explores the role of entrepreneurial leadership—through its dimensions of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking—in enhancing organizational prestige, represented by organizational reputation, identity, and external image, within private institutes in Duhok province. It also examines the mediating role of organizational readiness, including top management support, clarity of vision, organizational culture, and organizational flexibility, based on insights from a sample of faculty members who play a central role in the educational process and have direct exposure to the administrative realities of their institutions. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and uses a structured questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. Data were analyzed using SPSS.v25, and hypotheses were tested based on the proposed conceptual model. The findings indicate that organizational readiness mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational prestige. Results further suggest that fostering a flexible organizational environment—supported by conscious entrepreneurial leadership and calculated risk-taking—can contribute to strengthening institutional reputation, reinforcing organizational identity, and enhancing the external image of educational institutions, thereby improving their overall prestige in a competitive academic environment.
