Leadership Styles Adopted by Municipal and District Assemblies: A Case of the Builsa District Assembly

Abstract

This research was carried out to examine the leadership styles used by the District and Municipal Assemblies (MMDA’s) in the Upper East Region of Ghana to implement their programmes and projects to the benefit of the people. The Builsa District Assembly was used as a case study. The objectives of the study were to find out the extent to which the respondents understood the meaning of leadership, the types of leadership styles exhibited, and the relationship that exists between employees and management. Structured questionnaire was the main tool used for collecting data. Questionnaires for staff and leaders of the Assembly were randomly distributed to solicit their views. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 was method used to analyse the data collected. One major finding was that leadership styles adopted by the MMDA’s have been generally viewed as uncompromising and it is therefore, significant that leaders adopt much more tolerable styles of leading their subordinates which would encourage better understanding of leadership styles by their workers. A number of recommendations have been made based on major findings of the study. These include; the need for improved free flow of communication, transparency and the need for leaders to be prompt in handling issues and challenges.