The Link between Leadership Style and Leadership Effectiveness in the Public Universities of Ethiopia

Abstract

This study explored the links between leadership styles and leadership effectiveness using a correlational research design. A total of 616 academic staff members drawn from five public universities were included using proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results unveiled the domination of laissez-faire leadership style than the transformational and transactional styles in public universities. The results further unveiled that transformational leadership had high and significant correlations with all the leadership outcome measures of employees’ extra effort, perceived leadership effectiveness and finally staff satisfaction, while transactional leadership had moderate and significant relationships with employees’ perceived extra effort and staff satisfaction, but moderate and non-significant relationship with perceived leadership effectiveness. Besides, laissez-faire leadership style had low and non-significant relationships with all the three measures of leadership outcomes. Finally, the findings indicated that 55.8 % of the extra effort, 59.9 % of leadership effectiveness, and 53.9% of perceived staff satisfaction were explained by the three leadership styles. Policy directions are also forwarded in the study towards the end.