Employee’s Preference on
Leadership Styles and Their
Implication to Employee
Performance
Ara B. Huertazuela*1
Zarah Jane Q. Zapanta*2
huertazuelaara@gmail.com
Ara B. Huertazuela
Jizelle J. Villadiego
Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation
Lucena City, Philippines
Abstract With the participation of employees, the study
investigated the impact of employees’ perspectives
towards the implemented leadership styles of the OPPO
Mobile Store operating in Lucena City. Through a
descriptive research design, questionnaires made by the
researchers were the instrument used to gathered
necessary data for the study. The evaluation of all data
obtained included percentage and weighted mean. The
results of the study revealed the employees’ responses to
different leadership styles and the influence of leadership
styles on their performance. Employees believe that the
effective leadership style was when the management
values their suggestions, recommendations, and ideas in
terms of decision-making. Moreover, the employees
preferred a transformational leadership style as the
manager motivates, inspires, and encourages them to
participate in different necessary activities and decisions
of the management. Employees perform their task
satisfactorily as the leadership styles implemented in the
company was in favor of them. It is recommended that the
other way to boost the performance of an employee is
through the implementation of recognition and rewards. It
will make the employee more motivated to finish the
assigned tasks with a high quality of performance.
Keywords: Employee, Employee’s Preference, Employees’
Performance, Leadership Styles
Introduction
In a competitive business environment, organizations rely upon
their leaders to facilitate the changes and innovations required
to maintain a competitive advantage. Leaders play a significant
and irreplaceable role in retaining employees and promoting
their organizational commitment. Moreover, leaders and
employees form an integral part, fundamental for the growth
and development of every business.
Besides, the driver of such a strategic move towards
surviving the competition is the leadership provided by
managers who are expected to influence others in achieving
organizational goals and also boost employee performance.
Various organizations need firm leadership styles that stimulate
employee performance. Some organizations such as tractor
factories face the problems: lesser innovation, low productivity,
and inability to meet the performance target. This problem
happens due to a lack of strategic interventions of specific
leadership styles to a particular situation. It resulted in the
strategic integration of new leadership styles into effective
management of employees to improve employee performance
like laissez-faire, autocratic, participative, and transactional,
and transformational. (Iqbal N, Anwar S, Haider N, n.d.).
It argued that effective leadership has a positive sway
on the performance of the organizations (Maritz et.al, 1995). It
has also been widely accepted that effective organizations
require effective leadership and that organization performance
will suffer in direct proportion to the neglect of this (Fiddler and
House, 1998). Furthermore, the effectiveness of any set of
people is dependent on the quality of its leadership - effective
leader behavior facilitates the attainment of the follower's
desire, which then results from an ineffective performance.
In determining to what extent the follower affects the
leader, Greene (1975) asserted that the causal arrow between
leader and followers might bring in the opposite direction, that
is, follower performance may shape the amount of
consideration and initiating structure behavior exhibited by the
leader. It only highlights the notion that the relationship
between leader and follower is a reciprocal relationship or twoway influence process. Murphy (1941) called attention to
leadership being an interactive and dynamic process whereby
the leader influences the follower, the follower influences the
leader, and both are influenced by the context surrounding this
leader-follower relationship.
Since the competition is firm in today's business,
leaders must ensure that employees within an organization are
reliable and execute the commendable performance. However,
many researchers believe that the implemented leadership
affects the boost of performance as mentioned above. Hence, it
becomes imperative to study the employee's preference for
leadership style to help maximize their contribution to an
organization.
Purposes of the Research
The main purpose of the research is to investigate the
employee's preference for leadership styles and their
implications to employee performance on the employees.
Specifically, it sought to know the most desirable and least
desirable traits of leadership style.
Among others, the study seeks to provide the necessary
feedback for the management based on the preferred leadership
style of the employees. With this, they can take immediate
action and organizational changes, if needed, to enhance the
performance within the company.
This study also envisioned to propose seminars
concerning the improvement of the leadership skills of the
leaders, managers, and employers. Since the employees are the
core of the business, the company must be open about the
leadership needed of every employee.
Methodology
Research Design
The study used a descriptive research design. It
surveyed employee’s preference for leadership style and a
survey on the implication of performance towards the
leadership style.
Sampling Procedures and Participants
Participants in the study were employees of OPPO,
currently employed at Pacific Mall, one of the well-known
malls in Lucena City. Since the employees are working on one
of the most known mobile phone brands, they are proficient in
handling customers and promoting their products. However,
this research focused on assessing worker preference for
leadership types. The total number of respondents was 15 out of
15, but they were chosen by non-random sampling. Besides,
they have completed a digital training program named "OPPO
Learn Pro" to provide their employees with a shared online
community to learn, communicate, develop, and increase their
productivity.
Instruments
The survey instrument was used to visualize employees'
preference for leadership styles and their participation in their
results. The survey instrument was composed of five (5)
leadership styles with different descriptions such as autocratic
leadership, participative/democratic leadership, laissez-faire
leadership, transactional leadership, and transformational
leadership. The needs assessment tool was a self-made survey
instrument focused on the related literature and leadership
studies. It should be noted that the needs review focuses solely
on the profile of citizens-respondents concerning the growth of
awareness of leadership, which is the limitation of the study. All
in all, the used research instrument used Likert type rating scale.
Although questionnaires were self-made, it was administered by
the study administrator. As a result, the instrument was found to
be valid and reliable.
Data Collection
The researchers had obtained the requisite permission
to carry out the analysis from the manager of the Oppo Branch
in the Pacific Mall in Lucena City. After identifying the
respondents and receiving their informed consent, the
researchers directly administered the questionnaires to the
respondents who were employees of the organization. The
survey instruments were collected shortly after the respondents
had finished answering them. All the collected data were
encoded using Excel and were summarized and tabulated for
analysis.
Results and Discussion
This chapter presents, analyses, and interprets the gathered data
from the respondents through the questionnaire provided by the
researchers conducted during the investigation. These are
supported by statistical treatment as found in the
accompanying figures and table by substantiating data gathered
from the review of related literature and studies.
On Employee’s Preference on Leadership Style
This paper examined the preference of employees
concerning with leadership styles. It has five (5) areas such as
autocratic leadership, participative/democratic leadership,
laissez-faire leadership, transactional leadership, and
transformational leadership.
Table 1. Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of the
Responses of the Respondents in Terms of
Autocratic Leadership Style
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Autocratic Leadership
N
M
Verbal
Description
I prefer a leader who tells to his/her
employees what has to be done and how to
do it.
15
3.6
SA
I prefer a leader who always retains the
final decision- making authority within
his/her department or team.
15
3.5
A
15
3.5
A
15
3.47
A
15
3.4
A
15
3.06
A
15
3.06
A
I prefer a leader who is goal- oriented.
I prefer a leader who established new
strategies when something goes wrong and
inform employees immediately.
I prefer a leader who supervised employees
closely.
I prefer a leader who likes the power that
his/her leadership position holds over
subordinates.
I prefer a leader who threatened employees
with punishment in order to get them to
achieve the organizational objectives.
8.
I prefer a leader who does not allow new
employees to make any decisions.
15
2.5
A
9.
I prefer a leader who does not consider
suggestion made by employees.
15
2.2
D
10. I prefer a leader who acts as the chief judge
of the achievements of the members of the
group.
15
1.9
D
Legend:
3.50 – 4.00 = Strongly Agree (SA)
2.20 – 3.50= Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.20 = Strongly Disagree (SD)
1.00 – 1.75 = Disagree (D)
In terms of descriptions on autocratic leadership
shown in Table 1, "I prefer a leader who tells to his/her
employees what has to be done and how to do it" got the
highest mean which is 3.6. On the other hand, the remaining
descriptions fell from 1.9 to 3.5. It indicates that most
employees somehow like the style of autocratic leadership.
According to Stanley (2015), an autocratic leadership style is a
more authoritative management style where leaders have
complete power over staff. Yet, leadership is often best used in
crises situation, when decisions must be made quickly and
without dissent. Overall, the figures show that a leader who
has a clear vision has a good impact on the employees.
Table 2. Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of the
Responses of the Respondents in Terms of
Participative/Democratic Leadership Style
1.
2.
3.
Participative/Democratic Leadership
N
M
Verbal
Description
I prefer a leader who asks for employee’s
ideas and input into upcoming plans and
projects.
15
3.9
SA
I prefer a leader who always tries to
include one or more employees in
decision-making.
15
3.7
SA
I prefer a leader who calls a meeting to get
his/her employees advice when things go
wrong.
15
3.7
SA
4.
5.
6.
7.
I prefer a leader who creates an
environment where the employees take
ownership of the project.
I prefer a leader who allows employees to
participate in the decision-making process.
I prefer a leader who asks employees of
their vision of where they see their jobs
going and then use their visions where
appropriate.
I prefer a leader who was his/her leadership
power to help his/her subordinates grow.
15
3.7
SA
15
3.7
SA
15
3.7
SA
15
3.6
SA
8.
I prefer a leader who allows employees to
set priorities with his/her guidance.
15
3.4
SA
9.
I prefer a leader who works with
employees when the difference in role
expectations arises.
15
3.2
A
15
3.2
A
10. I prefer a leader who helps employees to
exercise self-direction if they are
commuted to the objectives.
Table 2 shows the frequency and weighted mean
distribution of the responses of the respondents in terms of
participative/democratic leadership style. As seen above, the
description, “I prefer a leader who asks for employee’s ideas
and input into upcoming plans and projects” got the highest
mean, which is 3.9. It is undeniable that having this kind of
leadership style gives satisfaction to the employees since most
of them give positive feedback with provided descriptions.
According to the study, a participative leadership style
involves all members of a team in identifying essential goals
and developing procedures or strategies to reach those goals.
Because leaders who favor this style encourage active
involvement on the part of everyone on the team, people often
can express their creativity and demonstrate abilities and
talents that would not be made apparent otherwise that
ultimately improve the performance of the employee. Thus, the
figures above tell that participative leadership is an effective
way to boost the worker's productivity.
Table 3. Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of the
Responses of the Respondents in Terms of Laissez
– Faire Leadership Style
Laissez – Faire Leadership
N
M
Verbal
Description
I prefer a leader who gives fully trust
his/her members to make appropriate
decisions.
15
3.53
SA
2.
I prefer a leader that allows members to
appraise their own work.
15
3.5
A
3.
I prefer a leader who lets group members
to make appropriate decisions.
I prefer a leader who does not involve
himself/herself when the challenges come.
I prefer a leader who does not make grouprelated discussion.
I prefer a leader who makes no policies.
I prefer a leader that gives complete
freedom to solve problems on their own.
15
3.13
A
15
2.6
A
15
2.3
A
15
2.3
A
15
2.2
D
1.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
In most situations, leaders leave members
alone.
15
2.07
D
9.
I prefer a leader who avoids evaluating
problems and concerns as they are
discussed.
15
2.07
D
10. In complex situations, I prefer a leader who
lets the member work out problems in their
own.
15
2.07
D
Table 3 shows the frequency and weighted mean
distribution of the respondents in terms of Laissez-Faire
Leadership, where, "I prefer a leader who gives full trust to
his/her members to make appropriate decisions" got have a
weighted mean of 3.53. However, most of the respondents
disagree with the other descriptions concerning this kind of
leadership. According to Goodnight (2011), Laissez-faire
leadership may be the best or the worst of leadership styles.
Laissez-faire leaders abdicate responsibilities and avoid
making decisions, which may give the team complete freedom
to do their work and set their deadlines. They provide teams
with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise do not get
involved. Nevertheless, the figures above show that laissezfaire leadership is not beneficial within the organization, yet, it
needs improvement.
Table 4. Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of the
Responses of the Respondents in Terms of
Transactional Leadership Style
Transactional Leadership
N
M
Verbal
Description
I prefer a leader that provides subordinates
assistance in order to change subordinates'
effects.
15
3.8
SA
2.
I prefer a leader that actively deals with
mistakes, in order to achieve goals.
15
3.73
SA
3.
I prefer a leader that clearly sets objectives
for their followers to achieve.
I prefer a leader that monitors the outcomes
of whether the objective is achieved or not.
I prefer a leader that provides
psychological rewards, such as compliment
on the fulfilment of obligations.
I prefer a leader who clarifies role and task
requirements.
I prefer a leader who ensures that the work
standards are met.
15
3.67
SA
15
3.67
SA
15
3.6
SA
15
3.53
SA
15
3.53
SA
15
3.4
A
1.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
I prefer a leader that provides subordinates
with materials rewards, such as pay raise or
bonus on the fulfilment of obligations.
9.
I prefer a leader who keeps track of
mistakes.
15
3.33
A
10. I prefer a leader that helps subordinates
achieve short- term goals.
15
3.33
A
Table 4 provides the frequency and weighted mean
distribution of the respondents in terms of transactional
leadership, where “I prefer a leader that provides subordinate
assistance to change subordinates' effects” has a highest
weighted mean of 3.8. Besides, most of the employees strongly
agree with the descriptions given above. It implies that
employees preferred this kind of style since they feel that all of
their hard works are worth it. As originally described by Burns
(1978), transactional leaders identify the expectations of their
followers and respond to them by establishing a close link
between effort and reward. Power is given to the leader to
evaluate, correct, and train subordinates when performance
needs to be improved and to reward effectiveness when the
required outcomes are achieved (Couto 2007). Overall, the
figures show that transactional leadership is effective for
workers.
Table 5. Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of the
Responses of the Respondents in Terms of
Transformational Leadership Style
Transformational Leadership
N
M
Verbal
Description
1.
I prefer a leader that helps others to
develop their skills and values.
15
3.8
SA
2.
I prefer a leader that helps others to
rethink ideas not questioned before.
15
3.8
SA
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
I prefer a leader that builds a mission
for the organization.
I prefer a leader that is confident and
powerful.
I prefer a leader that encourages
creative thinking.
I prefer a leader that provides
appealing images of what they can do.
I prefer a leader who is proactive.
15
3.73
SA
15
3.67
SA
15
3.67
SA
15
3.6
SA
15
3.53
SA
8.
I prefer a leader that raises follower
awareness for collective interests.
15
3.53
SA
9.
I prefer a leader who has charisma.
15
3.53
SA
10. I prefer a leader who has vision for the
future.
15
3.53
SA
Table 5 indicates the frequency and weighted mean
distribution of transformational leadership, where "I prefer a
leader that helps others to develop their skills and values” has
the maximum weighted mean of 3.8. Also, the other examples
of the transformational leadership model earned the most
numerous verbal definitions of "strongly agree" in contrast
with the other types of leadership. It means that this type of
style is suited to the employee's taste. They can perform better
and do efficient works. Nemanich and Keller (2007) concluded
that Transformational Leadership behaviors had a significantly
positive relationship with acquisition acceptance and to be
positively related to goal clarity, creative thinking, and
follower performance. Hence, the figure shows that
transformational leadership makes to boost an employee's
performance.
Conclusion
The study investigated the perceptions of employees concerning
the leadership styles utilized by a company. It also analyzed the
implications of employees’ preferences on their performance, as
well as their attitude towards management. The study also tried
to determine other ways to improve the performance of the
employee to achieve the organizational goals of the company.
First, it was found that the employees’ perceptions
concerning the leadership styles utilized by a company indicate
that the effective leadership style is achieved when the
management encourages them to participate in decision making
and motivates them to give their best effort in work. The
management should value the employees’ suggestions,
recommendations, and ideas for the betterment of the company.
Also, power is decentralized in all the workforce of the
company. The employees preferred a transformational
leadership style as the manager motivates, inspires, and
encourages them to participate in different necessary activities
and decisions of the management.
Second, the study also revealed that the employees’
preferences correlate with their performance in an organization.
The productivity of an employee depends on how the
organization manages the leadership style it has. When an
employee is motivated and agrees with all the rules and
regulations of the company, there is a potential assurance that
the employee will work harder and will perform with a high
quality of performance.
Third, the study tried to determine other ways to
improve the performance of the employee towards the
achievement of the organizational objectives of the company.
There were recognition and rewards that serve as a tool to
motivate and inspire employees to finish the assigned tasks. It
helps to attain the goals of the company as the employees
produce the best output in their work.
Recommendations
In the light of the conclusions of the study, it is recommended
that prospective researchers may conduct a parallel study on the
in-depth analysis of implications and factors affecting the
employees’ performance. Future researchers may collect data
from reputable sources such as journals, books, periodicals
related to the subject. In the case of the employers, they should
have a good communication system to disseminate information
regarding the additional or modified rules and regulations of the
company. Also, there should be clear instruction on the
recognition and rewarding of employees to motivate and inspire
them in their work. With this view, it creates an opportunity for
the organization to produce a high quality of outputs that may
lead to an increase in the earnings of the company.
…
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Acknowledgement
The authors extend their gratitude to the researchers for
allowing them to used this study to fulfill the final requirement
in the subject, “Academic Writing." The authors also extend
their gratitude to the adviser of the subject, Mrs. Jahzeel
Sarmiento, for guiding them in doing the manuscript, and for
answering all the queries and concerns.