Relationship Between Leadership Orientation and Performance of Independent Commissions in Kenya

Abstract

This study's goal was to ascertain how leadership orientation affected the performance of Kenya's Independent Commissions. The resource-based perspective, Bolman and Deal framework, and contingency theory serve as the study's pillars. This research was cross-sectional and descriptive. Given that the target was a direct objective that needed a description of phenomena, this approach was suitable. The research is cross-sectional since there was just one moment at which data were observed. 13 commissions that were active in Kenya as of September 30, 2021, made up the study's sample. Since all 13 commissioners participated, the research qualified as a census. By use of a questionnaire, primary data was gathered. According to the demographic data, the median age of the commissioners was 28.50 years, the mean age was 30 years, the most common age was 23, and the lowest and highest ages were 18 and 48 respectively. Our ability to absorb funds has increased (2.75, 1.138); our ability to mobilize resources has increased (2.58, 0.900); the public rating of the commission has increased (2.82, 1.328); and our relations with stakeholders have improved (1.92, 0.996), respectively. The analysis of the commission’s performance statements revealed that the mean and standard deviation of the statements were as follows: In order to determine the relationship between leadership orientation—specifically, structural orientation, human resource orientation, political orientation, and symbolic orientation—and performance, a correlation analysis of the data on leadership orientation and performance of the commissions was also conducted. In this analysis Was calculated using Pearson correlation. Using SPSS version 25, the Pearson correlation data on the relationship between the independent variable and performance were produced. The correlation between leadership orientation and performance was 0.589 and the p-value 0.044, which denoted that the correlation was significant at the 0.05 level and as a result there was a high degree of correlation. The correlation coefficient (r) ranges from 0.10 to 0.29 was regarded as a low degree of correlation, r ranges from 0.30 to 0.49 was considered a moderate degree of correlation, and r ranges from 0.50 to 1.00 a high degree of correlation. In addition to the commissions, a variety of additional public-sector organizations might be examined in order to generalize the results. A crucial subject that hasn't gotten much attention from academics is leadership orientation in the public sector. More study in this area will help us comprehend the relationship between leadership orientation and performance in the public sector, which has fascinating management and practice implications. This study's sample size was quite tiny. As a consequence, by selecting a larger population, additional research may assess the link between leadership orientation and public sector performance, allowing for the identification of both the association and the impact.