Instructors’ Perception of the Leadership Styles of their Department Heads at Jimma University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate instructors‟ perception of the leadership styles of department heads at Jimma University. The study employed descriptive survey method and used quantitative approach. Instructors were source of data. A total of 192 sample instructors were selected using proportionate stratified sampling technique. LEAD-Others instrument and Demographic Variables Survey questionnaires were employed to collect the data. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Finally, it was examined using relevant literature. The results of this study showed that instructors perceived „selling‟ as department heads‟ predominant and „participating‟ as their secondary leadership style. The study further revealed that the perception of instructors did not significantly vary across demographic variables such as work experience and disciplinary background except level of education. Finally, the researchers recommended that department heads, as leaders; need to vary their leadership style in order to fit into the situations. Moreover, the university is advised to arrange continuous and relevant training for department heads to make them move able to varying their leadership styles. In addition, since leadership styles can vary across situations and time, further research should be conducted to see if there may be any differences in the leadership styles of department heads longitudinally.