The impact of leadership styles on organizational performance in Tanzania local government authorities: Evidence from Ubungo municipal council

Wahida Juma Shemahonge; Andrew Sulle

doi:10.51867/ajernet.7.3.120

Authors

Wahida Juma Shemahonge Mzumbe University, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1466-2841
Andrew Sulle Mzumbe University, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9672-3990

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.3.120

Keywords:

Autocratic Leadership, Democratic Leadership, Leadership Styles, Organizational Performance, Transformational Leadership

Abstract

This study explored the effects of leadership style on performance of the organizational level in Tanzania Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the context of Ubungo Municipal Council. In particular, the study examined the effectiveness of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, democratic leadership and autocratic leadership in improving the performance of the LGAs, the problems that hinder the implementation of these leadership styles, and the most suitable leadership style for improving the performance of the LGAs. The study was designed as a mixed-methods, cross-sectional study with a pragmatic philosophy and a descriptive, comparative analytical orientation, supported by transformational, transactional, democratic and autocratic leadership theories. The respondents were selected using purposive and stratified sampling methods and a total of 80 respondents were selected of which 68 responded, giving a response rate of 85 percent. The quantitative data obtained from the structured questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that transformational leadership had the greatest positive impact on performance, which was positively increased in the areas of service delivery (M = 4.40), employee inspiration (M = 4.32) and innovation (M = 4.15). Both aspects of transactional leadership, accountability and efficiency in supervision, centred on higher scores (M = 4.30 and M = 4.25, respectively), and both aspects of democratic leadership, teamwork and participation, also centred on higher scores (M = 4.35 and M = 4.20, respectively). Excessive autocratic leadership, however, had a negative effect on employee morale (M = 4.10) and decreased participation (M = 4.25). The main factors that interfered with the effectiveness of leadership were related to limited financial resources (M = 4.48), bureaucratic procedures (M = 4.32), rapid population growth (M = 4.25) and political interference (M = 4.20). Thematic analysis of the interviews yielded seven themes that converged with the survey results, among them vision-driven leadership as a source of employee commitment, participation bounded by hierarchy, directive leadership as a situational instrument, and resource and bureaucratic constraints on leadership agency. The study concludes that none of these styles alone is sufficient and suggests a hybrid, situational leadership style, one that blends transformational and democratic leadership while applying transactional and autocratic methods selectively, alongside enhancing leadership development and council governance and financing.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Andrews, M., & Shah, A. (2003). Citizen-centered governance: A new approach to public sector reform. In A. Shah (Ed.), Handbook on public sector performance reviews. World Bank.

Avolio, B. J., & Bass, B. M. (2004). Multifactor leadership questionnaire: Manual and sampler set (3rd ed.). Mind Garden.

Basit, A., Sebastian, V., & Hassan, Z. (2017). Impact of leadership style on employee performance: A case study on a private organization in Malaysia. International Journal of Accounting and Business Management, 5(2), 112-130.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410617095

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.

Controller and Auditor General [CAG]. (2021). Annual general report of the Controller and Auditor General on the audit of local government authorities for the financial year 2020/2021. National Audit Office of Tanzania.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

De Hoogh, A. H. B., Greer, L. L., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Diabolical dictators or capable commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on team performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(5), 687-701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.01.001

Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. McGraw-Hill.

Gastil, J. (1994). A definition and illustration of democratic leadership. Human Relations, 47(8), 953-975. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679404700805

Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755-768. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.5.755

Likert, R. (1967). The human organization: Its management and value. McGraw-Hill.

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Obiwuru, T. C., Okwu, A. T., Akpa, V. O., & Nwankwere, I. A. (2011). Effects of leadership style on organizational performance: A survey of selected small-scale enterprises in Ikosi-Ketu council development area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(7), 100-111. https://doi.org/10.52283/NSWRCA.AJBMR.20110107A11

United Republic of Tanzania [URT]. (1982). The Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act, No. 8 of 1982. Government Printer.

Wang, G., Oh, I.-S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601111401017

Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An introductory analysis (2nd ed.). Harper & Row.