LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The influence of leadership style(s) to the success and overall effectiveness of public universities in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. In this paper, the study investigated the impact of leadership styles on performance of public universities in Nigeria. The work specifically examined how democratic leadership style impact on academic performance in public universities in Nigeria; and lastly, evaluates the impact of autocratic leadership style on quality of education in public universities in Nigeria. To achieve the spelt objectives, the study utilized survey design; and data was collected though a self-administered questionnaire from a number of 275 respondents who were staff of three randomly selected  public universities in south east, Nigeria. The result from the data analyses showed that democratic leadership style impacted positively on academic performance of students in public universities in Nigeria. Lastly, autocratic leadership style was also identified to have impacted positively on quality of education in public universities in Nigeria. The work among other things, recommended that public universities should ensure that they harness the leadership style(s) so well because they are pertinent to their success. They should make sure that academic and non- academic staff understand and implement the government policies guiding their existence, and also, the leadership style(s) being used should be clear to everyone.