Exploring the Perception of Employees on Leadership Style and Employee Engagement in the Gauteng Department of Education

Abstract

To evidently inform planning, it is critical that organisations determine the type of leadership style adopted. The study focused on governance styles and the different positionalities in the workspace and how that impacts leadership styles. It also weighed on the notion of effective policy implementation and how the governance of policy implementation might provide insights into leadership styles that weigh and inform the implementation of policies in a stable/inclusive working environment. The study was designed with three distinct goals. The first goal was to identify the leadership style or styles that are most frequently used in GDE. The second goal of the study was to determine the level of participation in departmental planning and decision-making among probationary employees and recently hired staff members. Finally, it sought to ascertain the connection between the engagement of probationary employees and leadership styles. Using a quantitative methodology, the study gathered information from 39 out of 114 GDE probationary employees. Data was gathered by sending probationary employees a Google link. Regression analysis and descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS IBM version 29.0. The findings indicate that transformational and transactional leadership philosophies are primarily used by GDE managers. Employee engagement and transformative, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles are positively and significantly correlated. Employee engagement is positively and significantly impacted by both leadership philosophies. Therefore, employing a transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire strategy will be associated with higher employee engagement outcomes, depending on the context in which a leader decides to use their style. Therefore, it's crucial to know which style to employ in which circumstance. Furthermore, the descriptive statistics show how very involved the probationary staff members of GDE are.