Leadership Styles and Demographic Correlates among Junior Management Officers of a Higher Educational Institution in the Philippines

Abstract

This study examined the various leadership styles of junior administrative and academic officers. Leadership styles greatly influence the organizational culture within an educational institution. Leaders who prioritize collaboration, inclusivity, and supportiveness foster a positive and supportive environment where students and staff feel valued, respected, and motivated to succeed. The study examined various leadership approaches, including transformational, autocratic, transactional, democratic, strategic, and laissez-faire styles, and investigated the leadership practices of junior administrative officers. Results will guide the administration in policy making and decision-making, as well as in appointing junior administrative officers to positions that best suit their leadership styles. This study found that junior administrative and academic officers exhibit high practice in transformational, strategic, transactional, and democratic leadership styles, while demonstrating low practice in laissez-faire and autocratic leadership styles. There were no significant relationships between the different leadership styles with the profile variables except for 1) democratic leadership style and years of employment, that is, a higher extent of democratic leadership style can be described with those who have fewer years of employment and vice versa; 2) Transactional leadership style and years of employment, that is, a higher extent of transactional leadership style can be described with those with fewer years of employment and vice versa; and 3) autocratic leadership style and highest educational attainment, that is, a higher extent of autocratic leadership style can be described with those with lower educational attainment, and vice versa.