Leadership Styles of Heads of Departments: Evidences from Nigerian Federal Universities

Abstract

This study assessed the leadership styles adopted by academic heads of departments in administering their departments in selected federal universities in Nigeria. It also identified the factors that influence their choice of leadership styles. Primary data were generated through the administration of the multifactor leadership questionnaire on 11 randomly selected heads of departments from 5 faculties in 2 purposively selected federal universities in North Central Nigeria. The retrieved data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and means. The results revealed that the democratic (x̄=3.25), transformational (x̄=2.87), transactional (x̄=2.75), and charismatic (x̄=2.46), leadership styles were more prominently utilized by the heads of departments. The factors that influenced their choice of leadership styles were found to be: set goals to be attained (x̄=3.73) availability of working facilities (x̄=3.36), cultural environment (x̄=3.45), attitudes of subordinates (x̄=3.27), job stress (x̄=3.09), leadership pattern of colleagues (x̄=3.09), past leadership experiences (x̄=3.09), and personal temperament (x̄=2.91). Gender and religion were found not to influence them. The study concluded that since the university operates a dynamic system, heads of departments must understand the complex phenomenon of leadership, learn new leadership skills and practice diverse mix of leadership styles that fit each context.

Keywords: Leadership styles, heads of departments, federal universities, Nigeria.