Leadership Styles of Rural Leaders in the Context of Sustainable Development Requirements: A Case Study of Commune Mayors in the Greater Poland Province, Poland

Agnieszka Springer, Katarzyna Walkowiak and Arnold Bernaciak
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Agnieszka Springer: Institute of Management, WSB University in Poznan, 61-895 Poznan, Poland
Katarzyna Walkowiak: Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
Arnold Bernaciak: Institute of Economics and Finance, WSB University in Poznan, 61-895 Poznan, Poland

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: In the context of sustainable and durable development postulates, local leadership and rural governance is a matter of particular importance. As a local leader, the commune mayor should have a vision of the commune’s development and possess the ability to influence the citizens and involve them in the process of realizing that vision. Such a manner of governance is the essence of transformational leadership, which, according to the multifactor model developed by Bass and Avoilo, facilitates the achievement of positive organizational and social results. The authors’ research is an attempt to answer the question about the style of governance adopted by the political leaders of rural communes in Poland and its links with their engagement in social activation and the use of participatory tools. A survey was conducted on a sample of 49 commune mayors from the Greater Poland Province (43%) using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and a questionnaire about public participation developed by the authors. The results indicate that components of transactional leadership predominate among commune mayors from the Greater Poland Province. Transformational leadership, which is largely based on the leader’s charisma, is exhibited much less frequently. At the same time, the majority of commune mayors use only the most basic forms of participation, without going beyond the requirements specified in the provisions of the law. Those commune mayors who rely more strongly on transformational leadership more often use public participation techniques as well.

Keywords: local leadership; leadership styles; public participation; rural areas; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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