Examining the effect of Campus Recreation leader’s leadership style on employee satisfaction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of leadership styles on job satisfaction of Campus Recreation professionals. To investigate the relationship, quantitative research was conducted. The sample of the study included 68 full-time Campus Recreation professionals from the Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas that worked for their current supervisor a minimum of 1- year. Bass and Avolio’s (2004) full-range leadership model served as the foundation for the research. The elements of this leadership style include a spectrum of transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant style which comprised the independent variables for the study. Job satisfaction formed the dependent variable. The short form of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X) and Job Satisfaction Survey were used for the measurement of leadership styles and the job satisfaction scales. The study employed the Spearman rank correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis to assess the bivariate relationship between employee job satisfaction and the elements of the full-range leadership model. The findings of the research indicated there is a significant and positive relationship between the variables of the study. The results of correlation and multiple regression analysis indicated transformational leadership was significantly related to and predicts job satisfaction. Transactional leadership style was significantly positively related to job satisfaction. However, it was not significantly able to predict job satisfaction. Passive-avoidant style was significantly negatively related to job satisfaction. However, it was also not a significant predictor of job satisfaction.