Transformational and transactional leadership styles among leaders of administrative ministries in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

In contrast to transformational leadership where the leader works with employees to identify the needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of the group, transactional leadership styles focus on the use of rewards and punishments in order to achieve compliance from followers. This study examines the prevalence of Transformational Leadership and Transactional Leadership styles of Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors in various ministries in Lagos State Nigeria. A sample size of 60 was selected out of the 72 officers. The principal instrument used was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) which included a section for demographic data collection. The Pearson r for correlation and descriptive statistical analysis were employed in the study. There was a 58.3% prevalence of Transformational Leadership and 55.0% prevalence for Transactional leadership. Results show a significant correlation between Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles r (60) =.348, p =.006, while correlation between leadership styles sub-factors of both styles report a significant correlation between Inspirational Motivation and Management by Exception, p =.005 and between Intellectual stimulation and Management by Exception, p =.022. It is concluded that there is a prevalent manifestation of both leadership styles in the population sample studied. Finding may assist in the informed decisions of executive leadership trainers and recruiters. Findings of this study imply that there is room for further research in the area. It is recommended that national and state administrative management should examine various strategies to strengthen a balance of both leadership orientations as required with a view to effectively channeling them in order to achieve their goals and objectives.

Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Leaders in Lagos State