The Influence Of Transformational Leadership Style On Covid19 Crisis Management In County Government Of Machakos

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of transformational leadership style on Covid-19 crisis management in Machakos County. The main objective of the research was to investigate the influence of transformational leadership style crisis management. This research will be significant to the government both at national and county level, organizational workers and future researchers. The study was anchored on four main theories namely, transformational theory, resource based view, contingency theory and upper echelon theory. Transformational theory explains that leaders and followers should advance organizational goals at the expense of personal interests. A leader should focus on member’s needs and input in order to effectuate reforms. On the other hand, resource-based view suggests that due to dynamic business environment, organizations can achieve competitive advantage by exploiting its strategic resources. According to contingency theory, leadership effectiveness is influenced by the interaction between the leaders' personal characteristics as well as the circumstances. Lastly, upper echelon theory explains that top manager’s perception of their organizations environment influences decisions they make that eventually hinder their performance. In addition, the study used a descriptive research design because it enabled the researcher to establish the status of the research phenomenon. The target population comprised of ten hospitals with subgroups drawn from Doctors, Nurses, Clinicians, human resource managers and disaster management officers making a total of 300 respondents. The study used a sample of 90 respondents through stratified sampling technique. Questionnaires were administered to collect useful data for analysis. Finally, data was analyzed using Statistical Program for Social Sciences and results presented in terms of percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviation. The research discovered a significant positive association between inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence and individualized consideration with covid-19 crisis management in Machakos County. Regression analysis found that the collective usage of transformational leadership style was responsible for 81.6 percent of the variations in covid-19 crisis management in Machakos County. The study concludes that transformational leadership style is critical in managing crisis such as Covid-19. It is therefore recommended that counties that are yet to adopt transformational leadership style should adopt as this will go a long way in crisis management. It is also suggested that policy makers should develop sound policies to guide counties when adopting leadership styles.