Relationship Between Effective Leadership and Staff Performance in Nigerian Public Service:

Abstract

The numerous issues plaguing Nigeria's public sector are mainly attributable to a lack of strong leadership that may serve as a model for accelerating organisational growth and expansion through enhanced employee performance. Administrators in charge of organisations must inspire their staff to provide work that meets or exceeds corporate objectives. To accomplish the goals and objectives of the organisation, leaders may use democratic, autocratic, or laissez-faire leadership styles, depending on the circumstances. Therefore, the article seeks to ascertain the relationship between effective leadership and employee performance in Nigerian public organisations. Data are generated from secondary sources and analysed thematically. The study discovered that for Nigeria's public service to overcome the challenges of leadership in the country's public bureaucracy, those entrusted with the burden of leadership must fully comprehend their responsibilities, duties and obligations. Also, findings reveal that lack of vision, political will, transparency, accountability, and adequate motivation negatively affect staff performance and consequently deter the growth and progress of the public organisations in championing the course of overall development. The paper recommended the need for the enthronement of transformational democratic leaders founded on distinct sound value systems with probity and accountability and those that prioritise the welfare of the staff and the overall organisational goal. The paper concludes that only leadership with maximum empathy for the people, particularly the staff, can be relevant to the overall organisational goal and objectives, especially in the Nigerian public service.