Leadership Style and Organisational Commitment Among Workers in Anambra State Civil Service

Leadership style is widely recognised as a determinant of employee engagement, morale, and organisational commitment in public sector contexts. This study explores the relationship between leadership styles and organisational commitment among workers in the Anambra State Civil Service, with a view to identifying which leadership approaches foster higher levels of staff dedication and institutional loyalty. The study is anchored on the Transformational Leadership Theory, which holds that leaders who inspire, communicate a vision, and invest in follower development generate greater commitment and performance than those who rely solely on transactional exchanges. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study population comprised civil servants across selected Anambra State ministries, from which 300 respondents were drawn using stratified random sampling. A structured, validated questionnaire adapted from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was administered, and data were analysed using Pearson correlation and regression. Findings indicate that transformational leadership behaviours, including intellectual stimulation, individualised consideration, and inspirational motivation, are positively correlated with employee commitment. Conversely, laissez-faire leadership exhibited the weakest association with commitment. The study concludes that the Anambra State Civil Service would benefit substantially from deliberate adoption of transformational leadership practices by senior officers. It is recommended that the Office of the Head of Service integrate transformational leadership competencies into its civil service training and promotion requirements.

Keywords: Leadership Style, Organisational Commitment, Civil Service, Transformational Leadership, Anambra State