Assessing the Role of Leadership in Organizational Transformation A Case Study of Agro-Development Bank, Kenya

Abstract

Research on organizational leadership has attracted significant interest among researchers and scholars of management studies partly due to the substantial role leadership plays in organizational transformation. However research has not adequately documented leadership models that managers may use to identify their own leadership needs in a commercial banking environment. This study sought to fill the existing gaps using transformation and transactional leadership models to assess the leadership role in organizational transformation in a commercial banking environment with reference to Agro-Development Bank (ADB). The researcher sought to determine which leadership model is suited in organizational transformation. The research draws from a population of 275 employees of ADB in Kenya. Questionnaires were administered to 200 employees representing 73% of total accessible population. The total questionnaires that were duly filled and returned by respondents were 186 representing a response rate of 93%. The questionnaires were coded by the researcher and then analyzed using SPSS software to produce mean levels, distributions frequency and percentages on employee's leadership expectations and performance perception. The results show that a significant transformation occurs when an organization changes its overall strategy for success in alignment of its operations within the context of organizational transformation. The study further confirmed that position postulate that to a large extent organizational transformation depends on the leadership's capacity to craft effective business strategy and to formulate clear vision of future. Further, such leaders should be able to develop effective teams to achieve sustainable organizational growth. The study established that key leadership functions at ADB should be improved to give staff opportunity for personal development, encouraging them to demonstrate personal initiatives by allowing some degree of authority in making decisions. Abstracts 121 The results indicate that ADB leadership has greater manifestation of transactional leadership tendencies; however, some aspects of transformational leadership existed although these were observed to be in their nascent stages. The study also indicate that a good mix of transitional and transformational leadership functions can enhance business growth, especially in the areas of staff development and biding effective employee commitments.