The impact of leadership styles on organizational performance in Tanzania local government authorities: Evidence from Ubungo municipal council

Abstract

This study explored the effects of leadership style on performance of the organizational level in Tanzania Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the context of Ubungo Municipal Council. In particular, the study examined the effectiveness of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, democratic leadership and autocratic leadership in improving the performance of the LGAs, the problems that hinder the implementation of these leadership styles, and the most suitable leadership style for improving the performance of the LGAs. The study was designed as a mixed-methods, cross-sectional study with a pragmatic philosophy and a descriptive, comparative analytical orientation, supported by transformational, transactional, democratic and autocratic leadership theories. The respondents were selected using purposive and stratified sampling methods and a total of 80 respondents were selected of which 68 responded, giving a response rate of 85 percent. The quantitative data obtained from the structured questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that transformational leadership had the greatest positive impact on performance, which was positively increased in the areas of service delivery (M = 4.40), employee inspiration (M = 4.32) and innovation (M = 4.15). Both aspects of transactional leadership, accountability and efficiency in supervision, centred on higher scores (M = 4.30 and M = 4.25, respectively), and both aspects of democratic leadership, teamwork and participation, also centred on higher scores (M = 4.35 and M = 4.20, respectively). Excessive autocratic leadership, however, had a negative effect on employee morale (M = 4.10) and decreased participation (M = 4.25). The main factors that interfered with the effectiveness of leadership were related to limited financial resources (M = 4.48), bureaucratic procedures (M = 4.32), rapid population growth (M = 4.25) and political interference (M = 4.20). Thematic analysis of the interviews yielded seven themes that converged with the survey results, among them vision-driven leadership as a source of employee commitment, participation bounded by hierarchy, directive leadership as a situational instrument, and resource and bureaucratic constraints on leadership agency. The study concludes that none of these styles alone is sufficient and suggests a hybrid, situational leadership style, one that blends transformational and democratic leadership while applying transactional and autocratic methods selectively, alongside enhancing leadership development and council governance and financing.