Influence of selected psycho-demographic variables on leadership styles among leaders of administrative ministries in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Debate on gender, age and some other demographics as issues determining effective leadership in Nigeria; have resulted in a need to better understand the psycho-demographic variable differences of Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles among leaders in the African continent. This study is aimed at filling existing literature gaps on gender, age and other demographic variables and their relationships to leadership styles. The population studied comprises of Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors in the ministries of Lagos State Nigeria. A sample size of 60 was selected out of the 72 in office at the time of study using incidental sampling technique. Data on the Transformational and Transactional leadership styles of the respondents were assessed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) with a Cronbach Alpha of 0.86 and a section for demographic data. The t- test for independent samples and ANOVA were employed to statistically analyze the data for the study. Results show that none of the demographic variables tested revealed any significant impact on the Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles of these leaders. It is concluded that the leaders manifest these leadership styles the same way, despite some striking differences in the demographic variables. Finding may assist in the informed decisions of executive leadership training and recruiting. It is recommended that national and state administrative management should examine various strategies to train leaders for a balance of leadership orientation as required.

Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Gender, Age, Educational, Marital Status, Job Tenure