INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN MARSABIT COUNTY KENYA

Ralia Arero Jillo, Dr. Yusuf Muchelule

Abstract


In the modern society, a lot of life activities is dependent on effective leadership in various aspects such as work function, community survival, organization performance and even development. The global arena has forced organizations to restructure in order to compete in the global economy that is driven by profitability, innovation and performance. Leadership challenges are global and affect all organizations across countries and sectors irrespective of size and complexity of operations. There's the myth that anybody who is highly educated and highly intelligent in a specialized discipline can naturally manage or lead counties. ‘This study aimed at examining the influence of leadership styles on employee engagement in Marsabit county, Kenya.’ Specifically, the study focused on leadership styles identified as: autocratic, and transformational leadership styles and how they affect employee engagement in Marsabit county. ‘The study was guided by the following theories: fielder’s contingency theory, and Likert leadership theory, transformational leadership theory, and transactional leadership theory.  The study used descriptive survey design where it targeted 182 representatives from Marsabit county. A sample of 125 respondents was administered with questionnaire. The study used questionnaire to collect primary data. Both descriptive and inferential analysis were done, a pilot study was done using 10% of the sample in Wajir County. The descriptive statistics showed that there is significance evidence to suggest adoption of the various leadership styles in Marsabit county. The inferential analysis showed that significant relationship between the various leadership styles and employee engagement. Autocratic, and transformational leadership styles were found to have positive significant influence on employee engagement though the influence was weak. The study concluded that all leadership styles are suitable dependent on the situation and the organization environment. Thus, the study recommended that county to try to balance all the leadership styles to ensure they improve on productivity. The study also recommends a similar study to affirm the current findings. The study findings will be useful to county assemblies, NGOs, government agencies and other private sectors.

Key Words: leadership styles, transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style, employee engagement

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References


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