Roles of perceived leadership styles associated with developmental projects direction and implementation in Asante Nation : a study of the current Asante King's operation in Asante, Ghana

Abstract

The study's objective was to analyze the leadership style of the current Asante King in Ghana and how it has attracted people to development in the region. There were 56 usable responses: 15 directors, 20 section heads, 16 support staff, and the remaining five represent missing number.

To answer the question "What leadership style do respondents perceived the current Asante King is using?" and "How does the King utilize the style to get developmental projects done or approved?" a quantitative descriptive method was employed. Four research questions were posed for this study; the data gathered was analyzed by Statistical Package of Social Sciences, version 11.0. Descriptive statistics:means, standard deviations, t test, Spearman's correlation co-efficient, and One-way Analysis of variance were used to analyze and answer the research questions.

As a commendation to the Asante King, the study concluded that he had successfully used the three integrated leadership styles: charismatic, transactional and transformational. Recommendations of the study were (a) establishment of a joint effort between the King and the government in the Ashanti Region for strategic plans and development programs, (b) continued use by the King of the three integrated leadership styles, (c) upgrading of the King's knowledge in leadership through consultation with experts, seminars and conferences on leadership in order to minimize unsatisfactory interactions, (d) improving effective communication through regular meetings that will involve more key employees, (e) re-structuring of reward system, (f) adjustment of King's attitude towards people's suggestions, and (g) re-orientation of people's expectations of the King's leadership styles.

The following points are noted for further study: l. The research instrument should be structured in a Ghanaian setting in order to incorporate some local terminologies for easy understanding by respondents. 2. The same topic but a different population should be studied to ascertain the leadership style of the Asante King and its contribution to the development of the area.