Purdue Extension: Employee Engagement and Leadership Style

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the Purdue Extension county directors’ level of engagement and leadership style and to examine the relationship between these two variables. The study aimed to inform a professional development training program for all Purdue Extension county extension directors. Survey data were collected from 86 Purdue Extension county extension directors. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and hierarchical linear regression. Within the study, it was found that the levels of employee engagement among Purdue Extension county extension directors were average, bordering on high, and that these levels of engagement did not differ when demographics, such as gender, age, and years of service were taken into account. Additionally, it was found that participants scored higher than the norm for transformational leadership styles and lower than the norm for transactional leadership styles. The researcher discovered that there were no significant differences in transformational and passive-avoidant leadership by demographic factors, such as gender, age, years of service, and program area; however, there was a significant difference in transactional leadership among the county extension directors aged 22-35. Finally, the results indicated that transformational leadership significantly predicts employee engagement. As such, a focus should be made to build transformational leadership skills in order to increase employee engagement. Therefore, the researcher proposes to implement a professional development program specifically designed for county extension directors ages 22-35 that builds transformational leadership skills.