The Perceived Leadership Effectiveness of Managers in Public Universities in Kenya

Purpose: This completed research report investigates perceptions of leadership effectiveness of managers in public universities in Kenya. Methodology: Employing a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, the study sampled managers, academic staff, non-academic staff and final-year/postgraduate students from eight stratified public universities. Sample size was adjusted for design effect and non-response, yielding 600 administered questionnaires and 487 completed responses. Leadership effectiveness was measured across five domains that is vision and strategic direction, communication and stakeholder engagement, decision-making and transparency, people management (motivation and support), and innovation and responsiveness — using a validated Likert-scale instrument adapted from prior higher education leadership research. The results indicate moderate overall perceived effectiveness (mean = 3.42 on a 5-point scale), with higher ratings for vision and lower ratings for transparency and responsiveness. Findings: Academic staff and students rated managers significantly lower than administrative staff, and managers’ self-ratings (from the census of managers included) tended to be more positive than ratings from other stakeholders, consistent with prior literature on self–other discrepancies. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: Key predictors of perceived leadership effectiveness included transformational leadership behaviors, communication frequency, and participative decision-making.