Abstract:

The study was intended to investigate the effects of leadership styles on organizational performance in Ahantaman Rural Bank from 2013 to 2016. The study also sought to investigate any relationships between leadership styles and overall performance of the Bank. The main objective of the study was to investigate what type (s) of leadership style (s) led to improved organizational performance in the Bank. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate the relationship between leadership styles and organizational performance and the type of leadership style (s) that lead to improved organizational performance.

The study adopted a total population sampling approach to data collection. Among the leadership styles investigated, transformational leadership style obtained the highest raw score of 350 representing 22 percent of the total population investigated. Transactional, democratic, autocratic and laisez-faire leadership styles followed in that order. Thus, it was found that the most dominant and preferred leadership style in the Bank was transformational leadership style. This leadership style led to improved and consistent performance of the Bank.

The study concluded that there was a direct relationship between leadership styles and performance of the Bank. Assessment of the key performance indicators of the Bank and the consistent improvements in these indicators supported the assertion that there is a direct relationship between organizational performance and leadership styles. It is suggested that the scope of this study should be expanded by future researchers who intend to investigate the same subject. The expansion will lead to generalizability of the findings.

Keywords: Leadership style, Organizational performance, performance indicators.

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