Project Materials

LEADERSHIP THEORY AND ITS EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEES’ JOB PERFORMANCE IN AN ORGANISATION

Chapter one

Introduction

Leadership theory is the fundamental premise that underpins all leadership. That is, the general truth serves as the foundation for leadership. Planning, organising, coordinating, and controlling are critical functions in any organisation.

All play essential roles in helping the organisation achieve its aims and objectives. Planning is defined as the ability to predict the future.

It will help the organisation set its goals and guide it towards achieving those goals. Organising is the arrangement and structuring of people, work to be done, and facilities to do the task so that goals may be met and the many components of the organisation are brought together to achieve the organisational goals.

Controlling guarantees that there is no deviation from the established goals and objectives. These are collectively referred to as management functions. However, these management duties must be performed by individuals who will utilise them to manipulate subordinates in order to fulfil the organization’s goals.

Such individuals are referred to as leader(s). When two or more persons guide the efforts of others to achieve some desired goals, one of the actors or participants usually has a greater influence on group behaviour than the other and is looked to for guidance and instruction.

Such a person is considered as the group’s leader. With this, one can see that the act of leading, or leadership, may be defined as what makes up the organisation itself since when leadership fails, people are misled, which has a detrimental impact on the organization’s aims and objectives.

Leadership, being the most visible part of management, functions within and links the group together. Its role in human society is highly demanding, it requires leaders not only to be dynamic but efficient and resourceful. Leading is the practice of persuading and encouraging others to work effectively.

A leader motivates people to work towards goals and objectives in order to gain the willing and enthusiastic obedience of their subordinates. He must be able to encourage members to be dedicated and make substantial contributions to the organization’s progress.

A leader can motivate his followers by being considerate and demonstrating good leadership behaviour. A leader must not only be honest, but also be perceived as plainly honest.

A dishonest leader has no moral justification for promoting honesty among his followers. A leader serves as the centre of an organization’s operations.

Power, people, and influence are all implicit elements in understanding leadership. A leader has the authority to lead others and has influence (good or bad) over those who follow him.

However, there are certain leadership concepts that influence employee performance. These concepts include leadership styles to be used in a given situation, qualities to be possessed by the leader, the ability of the leader to lead effectively, and the ability of the leader to instill discipline and a sense of responsibility in followers by implementing or changing their behaviour and guiding them to obey the rules and maintain acceptable performance.

1.2 Statement of The Problem

Leadership is crucial in an organisation because it influences the behaviour of individuals within it. How well the leader performs this has an impact on the job performance of others in the organisation. Some of the problems of this study is this seeking solutions to include the following.

a. What is the requirement for leadership in an organisation?

b. Does leadership have an impact on employee performance?

c. What are the contributions and responsibilities of a leader in achieving organisational goals?

d. Are leaders born or created?

f. What determines the leadership style to adopt?

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study has as part of its objectives the followings;

i. To find out how leadership has contributed to employees job performance.

ii. Investigate the concept, practice, and principles of leadership, as well as how it operates within an organisation.

iii. Determine whether employees’ perceptions of leadership influence their performance.

iii. Analyse various leadership ideas in regard to employee reactions to their work.