Investigating leadership styles on maintenance employees’ performance at the Department of Infrastructure Development in Gauteng.

Abstract

This research study explored the impact of different leadership styles on the performance of employees in the health maintenance branch of the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) in Gauteng. Organizations operate in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous times, therefore, there is a need for effective leadership styles to deliver quality services to the communities and ensure employees perform at their best. Effective leadership styles not only enhance employee performance but also keep employees motivated and eager to learn and do more for their organization. The literature analysis conducted focused on the development of the leadership theory and the different leadership styles. Factors affecting employee performance were analysed, and the way leadership styles affect employee performance in the modern world were evaluated. The conceptual framework included five leadership styles (independent variables) and employee performance (dependent variable). The study investigated autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, transformational, and transactional leadership styles, and their impact on employee performance at DID. A quantitative research method was adopted for this study with a sample size of 80 employees across six regional offices and five academic maintenance hubs. There were 73 respondents, resulting in a response rate of 91.25%. The research information was collected utilizing structured questionnaires (with a 5-point Likert scale) delivered and collected from the respondents. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistical methods on the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (Version 29) were utilized for the data analysis. This research provides senior management at DID with effective and impactful leadership styles managers should exhibit to inspire, motivate, and get employees in the health maintenance branch to improve their performance. An improved employee performance is key for the department to professionalize the public service, improve service delivery, and achieve organizational goals. The research findings indicated that transformational and transactional leadership styles correlate strongly and positively with employee performance. The performance of employees whose regional head exhibits transformational and transactional leadership traits increases substantially. Even though the autocratic and democratic leadership styles positively affect employee performance, they have a much lesser impact than transformational and transactional leadership styles. On the other hand, the laissez-faire leadership style negatively affects employee performance at DID health maintenance branch.