Employee engagement, leadership, and performance: An empirical study of public sector effectiveness in Sierra Leone

This research explores how factors like employee engagement, leadership styles, performance management systems, and organizational culture affect effectiveness in Sierra Leone’s public sector institutions. It looks at how certain types of leadership, such as transformative and transactional leadership, along with performance management systems, shape organizational effectiveness. The study also considers how the organizational culture and the policies in place can either strengthen or weaken these effects. The study adopts a quantitative research design using a survey-based approach. Data were collected from public sector employees in Sierra Leone (N =300). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Multiple Regression Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to test the hypothesized relationships. Hierarchical Multiple Regression was applied to examine the moderating effects of organizational culture and policy frameworks on leadership styles, employee engagement, and performance management. The results reveal that employee engagement has a significant positive effect on organizational effectiveness (H1 supported). Transformational Leadership exhibits a stronger positive effective (H2a) supported), while its impact remains weak when isolated (H2b supported). Performance management systems significantly enhance organizational effectiveness (H3 supported). Moreover, organizational culture and policy frameworks moderate the relationship between leadership style, employee engagement, performance management, and organizational effectiveness (H4 supported). The findings highlight the critical role of leadership and HR strategies in enhancing public sector performance. Policymakers should emphasize transformational leadership training, effective performance management systems, and organizational culture reforms to foster engagement and improve overall effectiveness in Sierra Leone’s public sector. This study contributes to the public sector management literature by providing empirical evidence on how leadership, engagement, and performance management interact in Sierra Leonean public organizations. It also advances knowledge on the moderating role of organizational culture and policy frameworks in shaping these relationships.