THE ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP STYLES FOR EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

This study identified the essential leadership styles of principal officers of 37 public universities in Nigeria. One hundred and forty eight out of 185 principal officers were randomly selected to participate in this study. A demographic questionnaire and the styles of leadership survey (SLS) validated by the researcher with reliability index of 0.85 were used to collect data. One hundred and thirty (88%) of the principal officers completed the questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics including mean, standard deviation, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) test were used to analyze data at 0.05 level of confidence. It was found that there was a significant difference in the principal officers’ choice of the 9/1 ? directive and 1/1 bureaucratic leadership styles. These styles also represented the essential leadership styles for administration of public universities in Nigeria. The principal officers were advised to encourage continued growth in development of leadership styles through membership in professional organizations, seminars and workshops.