Influence of Directing Style of Situational Leadership on Employee Performance inPublic Universities in Kenya

Abstract

The study examined the influence of situational leadership styles on employee performance in public universities in Kenya, with organizational culture as a moderating variable. It focused on four leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Guided by Situational Leadership Theory, the study adopted a positivist philosophy and descriptive correlational research design. The target population comprised 1,688 heads of departments and office administrators from 27 public universities in Kenya. Using stratified random sampling, a sample of 323 respondents was selected. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS version 30.

Findings showed that directing leadership style had a positive and significant influence on employee performance, with results significant at p < .001 and explaining 21.1% of the variance in performance. Coaching leadership style also had a positive and significant relationship with employee performance (p < .001), explaining 44.3% of the variance. Supporting leadership style demonstrated the strongest influence, with significant results (p < .001) and explaining 69.6% of the variance in employee performance. Delegating leadership style similarly showed a positive and significant relationship (p < .001), accounting for 44.3% of the variance. In all cases, the null hypotheses were rejected.

The moderating role of organizational culture was also significant. Results indicated that organizational culture strengthened the relationship between situational leadership styles and employee performance, explaining 49.7% of the variance. This suggests that a supportive organizational culture enhances the effectiveness of leadership approaches in improving employee outcomes.

The study concluded that all four situational leadership styles significantly improve employee performance in Kenya’s public universities. Organizational culture further amplifies these positive effects. The study recommends that university management institutionalize situational leadership practices, align leadership approaches with employee situational needs, and cultivate a conducive organizational culture. Further studies in other sectors and contexts were also recommended.