LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PERFORMANCE OF CHARTERED UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to establish if there is a relationship between leadership style and performance of Chartered Universities in Kenya. University education plays a critical role in promoting technological advancements and improving the country's ability to capitalize economically. This study is anchored on the trait leadership theory. The study covered 49 Chartered universities, and the target respondents for this study comprised academic and non-academic university staff. The research study was grounded in a positive research paradigm. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design and used data from primary and secondary sources. A sample size of 362 is obtained through stratified random sampling, and a pilot study is conducted using 36 respondents. Data collected from the pilot study is tested to ascertain whether the data from the instrument would deliver the expected result. The research used questionnaires to collect primary data for this study and secondary data from the literature review was collected from journals, books and annual reports. Data Analysis involved descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. The descriptive analysis technique provides summaries on the sample data in qualitative and quantitative descriptions, which included mean standard deviation frequencies and percentages. The research carried out diagnostic tests to confirm the data normality, linearity, and multi-collinearity before data analysis being carried out. The quantitative data are analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and the use of inferential statistics. The research is then reviewed via applied various analytical models to interpret the data. The data that is collected from the field of study is treated with total confidentiality, such as respondents are asked not to indicate their names or the names of their university. The study findings shows that there is a positive significant between leadership style and performance of chartered Universities in Kenya (β=0.509 and p value=0.000). Therefore, a unit increase in leadership style index lead to an increase in performance index by 0.509 since the p-value is less than 0.05; the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted. This implies that leadership style influences performance of chartered universities in Kenya. The study concluded that transformational leadership style has a positive impact on the performance of chartered universities in Kenya. It is recommended that the University management board should recognize that one of the critical functions of leadership in an organization is to facilitate the attainment of organizational strategy and goals by eliciting desirable behavior from the subordinate.