The Impact of Leadership Orientations on Decision-Making Styles: A Research on Youth Camp Organizations

Abstract

Youth organizations are very important for the development of young people. It is thought that the leadership orientations of youth leaders and the decision-making mechanisms which they use are important in terms of being role models for young people who will play an important role in the construction of the future. This study aims to investigate the relationship between leadership orientations and decision-making styles of individuals working as leaders in youth camps affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a non-profit public organization. A total of 197 youth camp leaders, consisting of 45 females and 152 males, voluntarily participated in the research. The Multifactor Leadership Orientations Scale and the Decision-Making Styles Scale were used to collect research data. According to the correlation analysis results, a positive and moderate level of relationship was found between rational decision-making and structural leadership (r=.553), human resource leadership (r=.531), political leadership (r=.429), and charismatic leadership (r=.475) dimensions. There was a weak level of relationship between intuitive decision-making style and structural leadership (r=.165), human resource leadership (r=.232), there was a moderate level of relationship political leadership (r=.355), and charismatic leadership (r=.381) dimensions. A positive and weak level of relationship was found between dependent decision-making style and human resource leadership (r=.207) and political leadership (r=.187) dimensions. A negative and weak level of relationship was observed between avoidant decision-making style and structural leadership (r=-.171). According to the regression analysis results, structural leadership (β=.295), human resource leadership (β=.248) and charismatic leadership (β=.198) dimensions have a significant positive influence on the rational decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. Charismatic leadership (β=.315) dimension has a significant positive influence on the intuitive decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. Human resource leadership (β=.225) dimension has a significant positive influence on the dependent decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. In conclusion, leaders who exhibit structural, human-oriented, and charismatic leadership styles are likely to effectively employ a rational decision-making approach. Additionally, leaders with a charismatic leadership orientation may be proficient in utilizing an intuitive decision-making style, while those with a human-oriented leadership approach might excel in dependent decision-making. Future research could explore the expectations of young individuals from their leaders.