Effect of Leadership Style on Employee Performance in Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana Plant, Kogi State, Nigeria (Published)
This study investigated the effect of leadership styles on employee performance in Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana Plant, Kogi State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the influence of autocratic, transactional, laissez-faire, and transformational leadership styles on employee performance. Grounded in Transformational and Transactional Leadership Theory and supported by Path-Goal Theory, Human Relations Theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, and Lewin’s Leadership Styles Theory, the study sought to provide empirical evidence on how leadership practices influence employee productivity within Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design and drew on empirical data from 260 valid respondents selected from a sample of 386 employees through stratified random sampling. The population comprised 8,720 employees of Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana Plant. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and Multiple Regression Analysis with the aid of SPSS Version 20. Results revealed that autocratic leadership style significantly influences employee performance (β = 0.226, p < 0.05), transactional leadership style exerts a significant positive effect on employee performance (β = 0.341, p < 0.05), laissez-faire leadership style positively predicts employee performance (β = 0.128, p < 0.05), while transformational leadership style emerged as the strongest predictor (β = 0.447, p < 0.05). The findings further indicated significant positive relationships between all leadership style dimensions and employee performance. The study concludes that effective leadership practices are critical organizational resources for enhancing employee productivity, commitment, and operational efficiency. It recommends strengthening transformational leadership, continuous leadership development programmes, and performance-based management systems to sustain organizational competitiveness.
Keywords: Dankat Kuhiyep Bobai, Kindness Chubby Ben-Walson, Moses Sunday Ibrahim, Ruth Yimi Dyeri