The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of transformational leadership on employee performance at the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) in Abuja, Nigeria. It specifically emphasizes two important dimensions of transformational leadership, namely, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation, and examines their influence on employees’ quality of work. A quantitative research approach was used and data were collected from 273 employees selected through stratified random sampling from different departments and staff levels through a survey. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and validated measures of work quality. Descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression were employed for analysis. The results indicate a significant and positive relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and employees’ quality of work. Inspirational motivation was positively related to work quality (β = 0.41, p < 0.001), and intellectual stimulation was even more strongly related (β = 0.46, p < 0.001). The leadership dimensions collectively explained a significant amount of the variance in employee performance (R2 = 0.61) indicating that leadership style plays a major role in influencing the performance of employees in the organisation. The study finds that transformational leadership has a significant effect on the improvement of employees’ quality of work in public revenue institutions. It therefore recommends that FCT-IRS should enhance leadership development initiatives by implementing focused training programs and supportive organizational policies. This study adds relevant empirical insight to the existing literature on leadership and performance with focus on specific leadership behaviours and their link to work quality particularly in the Nigerian public sector.
Keywords: Employee Performance, FCT-IRS, Transformational Leadership, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, quality of work
