IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study surveyed the impact of leadership style on the performance of selected transport companies in Benue State, Nigeria. Three transport companies were drawn in Benue State for the study, namely: Benue Links Nigeria Limited with its headquarters located at Wurukum, Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Denjim Transport Company has its own corporate headquarters at 97 Gboko Road Makurdi, Benue State while Iwiene Nigeria Limited has its head office located at 55 Onitsha Street, Wuru Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Inherent to poor leadership style which had impeded on the performance of these companies had led to this study. The researcher adopted a survey design, with a population of 120 drawn from the selected companies. This was achieved through proportional stratified random sampling techniques. A five points rating scale questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the research population. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted using percentage and mean statistic while the hypothesis were tested with chi-square. The study discovered that leadership style affect organizational performance of any given company. That the style of leadership a manager adopted has a direct effect on the organizational performance of the employee. The study among others things discovered are, that participatory style of leadership and delegation of duties enhances the employee performance and attainment of corporate goals and objectives. The study therefore concludes that achievement of organizational goal and objective depends solely on the leadership style an organization adopted. It therefore recommends that, since leadership style is one of the basic tools used in attainment of organizational goal/objective, every organization should ensure that the right leader man their organization in order to achieve their set goal/objective.