Achieving High Employee Performance through Transformational Leadership in the Banking Sector

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue I, January 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Achieving High Employee Performance through Transformational Leadership in the Banking Sector

Winnie Nyakundi¹, Josphat Nyoni², Martin Dandira³, Maxwell Chufama ⁴, Elias Kandjinga⁵, Andrew Jeremiah^6
1,2Women’s University in Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe
^3,4,5,6 Namibia University of Science and Technology

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore whether the adoption of transformational leadership leads to higher employee performance in the banking sector. The study was motivated by high staff turnover rates in the banking sector has led to the loss of critical staff and consequently affect employee performance. While there are several factors that contribute staff turnover in the banking sector this study was premised on the view that the nature of leadership style adopted by banks has a greater influence on the performance of workers. Thus, the objective of this research was to the influence of transformational leadership on employee performance. Its findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance in the banking sector. The research adopted positivism philosophy and explanatory research design. Data was collected through a survey. The findings of the study noted that adoption of transformational leadership enhanced employee motivation, employee loyalty, and employee commitment and employee productivity. Accordingly, the study concluded that elements of transformational leadership lead to improved performance of workers. Therefore, it is recommended that leaders in the banking sector should adopt transformational leadership premised on inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration to ameliorate employee performance.

Keywords: Transformational leadership, employee performance, employee productivity, employee loyalty, employee commitment and employee motivation, Equity Bank Limited

I. INTRODUCTION

This study explored the influence of transformational leadership on employee performance in the banking sector. This was motivated by the need to enhance the performance of employees in the sector which has been characterised by higher staff turnover. It entails the following: background of the study, literature review, research methodology, results and discussions and the recommendations

1.1 Background of the study

Management and leadership of organisations in the 21st century is changing due to globalisation, uncertainty, emerging technologies, and the stiff competition that businesses face in the new global economy (Dike, Odiwe & Ehujor, 2015). Thus, leaders and managers in today’s organisations are under undue pressure to adopt a practical leadership style that substantially influences and motivates followers to enhance their performance, with a goal to attain set organisational objectives. Views and practical experiences

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