Leadership Styles of Middle-Managers of Higher Education Institutions in Basilan, Philippines ()
1. Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
In today’s modern and dynamic workplace, with highly diverse workforce, it is inevitable to demand that academic leaders must cope and adapt with an alternative strategy to build and develop the knowledge, skills and attitude of their clientele, considering the changing educational landscape in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) (Kaifi, 2010; Rodriguez, 2023; Mews, 2019).
Kaifi (2010) stated that “public and private administrators must become effective managers of individuals with diverse cultures, backgrounds, and interests”, he further stated that “Managers understand that the personnel (human resources) of an organization are its strongest asset that cannot easily be replaced”.
In Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), specifically, in the context of Philippine Higher Education Institution, leaders are individuals who hold positions of authority and responsibility to guide and oversee the operations in the institution. They play a crucial role in shaping the vision, mission, goals and values of the institution. Further, leaders in HEIs can hold various positions such as University or College President, who are considered as the top-level manager while the Vice-Presidents, Deans, Directors, Department Heads or Administrators, are the middle academic managers. They may be elected, appointed or designated depending on the governing structure of the institution (RA 8292). Middle manager is someone who is positioned under the top executives but above the first-level of supervisor, they are comprised of heads programs, units, academics departments, and in certain cases, directors for research and technology centers who help to connect institutional plans and implementation (Dopson et al., 1992). While Kallenberg (2015) defined academic middle managers as responsible for managing groups of academics and operate within the academic faculties.
Basilan is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. It is home to three main ethnolinguistic groups: the indigenous Yakans, and the later-arriving Tausugs and Chavacanos. There are also a number of smaller ethnic groups. With this diversity, and the demands to adhere to global standards for quality education such as the concept for Internationalization, ASEAN integration, Quality Assurance standards, the Philippine Qualifications Framework, the establishment of the K12-educational system in the basic education are some of the many reasons why academic leaders are pressed to cope and adapt to new strategies and styles in order to fully comply and align with the standards in order to bring their institution to a higher level and be at par with other universities in the country.
While there is considerable literature on leadership styles in general, there may be a relative lack of studies specifically examining the leadership styles of middle managers within the context of HEIs in Basilan, Philippines. Further, HEIs in the Philippines, have specific characteristics, such as shared governance, academic autonomy, particularly in Basilan as a Province, it has a diverse stakeholder group. Moreso, the prevalence of leadership styles in HEIs in Basilan, Province, Philippines was not yet fully explored. It is in this context that the researcher has conceptualized this study.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
Considering the dynamics in the workplace today and the demands for quality and other qualification standards for quality education, this study focuses on identifying the leadership styles exhibited by the middle managers of HEIs in Basilan including the challenges faced by the leaders, what opportunities are at hand, and this will serve as basis for future organizational development program for middle managers in Basilan, Philippines to cope with the changing educational system.
1.3. Research Objectives
1) To identify the leadership styles of the middle managers of Basilan, Philippines.
2) To identify the challenges faced by the middle managers and the opportunities in store for them.
3) To propose a development program as basis on how an understanding of leadership styles of middle managers in HEIs can contribute to the development of effective leadership practices in the higher education sector in Basilan, Philippines.
1.4. Research Questions
1) What is the prevalent leadership styles of the middle managers of Basilan, Philippines?
2) What Development Program Plan of Action can be proposed for the middle managers of Basilan, Philippines?
2. Literature Review
In many countries, school leaders are faced with challenges in transforming their educational system to produce graduates who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in this changing world. Therefore, school leaders are expected to change radically not only as mere managers but good leaders who can transform and improve educational outcomes (OECD, 2009).
On the one hand, “Effective leaders in Higher Education Institutions provide clear direction, establish priorities, and articulate a compelling vision that inspires faculty, staff, and students” (Northouse & Lee, 2019). Effective leaders are crucial in providing clear direction and articulating a compelling vision that inspires and motivates the organization, executing strategic plans, shaping the organizational culture, inspiring and motivating employees to achieve their full potential, developing and nurturing talent within the organization, while making important decisions that impact the organization’s success (Kotter, 1996; Drucker, 2009). Overall, effective leadership is crucial for driving organizational success as it sets the direction, builds a positive culture, motivates employees, develops talent, makes effective decisions, and navigates change.
On the other hand, Leadership styles define how leaders communicate their vision and goals to the institution. Effective leaders in HEIs provide clear direction, establish priorities, and articulate a compelling vision that inspires faculty, staff, and students. They set the tone for the institution’s direction and play a crucial role in guiding its overall strategic direction.
Further, Leadership styles influence the organizational culture within HEIs. The way leaders interact with others, make decisions, and handle challenges shapes the culture of the institution. Positive leadership styles such as transformational leadership can foster an environment of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. On the other hand, ineffective or negative leadership styles may result in toxicity, low morale, and hinder the institution’s progress (Bass & Riggio, 2006).
Leadership Styles
Leadership is a Relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. Sometimes the relationship is one-to-one. Sometimes it’s one-to-many. Regardless of the number, to emerge, grow, and thrive in these disquieting times, leaders must master the dynamics of this relationship. They must learn how to mobilize others to want to struggle for shared aspirations (Kouzes & Posner, 2003).
Different leadership styles play a crucial role in managing and leading change effectively” (Kotter, 1996). Instructional leadership and Administrative Leadership are two management styles that summarize the behavior of a school leader, specifically, they characterize a more comprehensively principals’ approach to their leadership approach. Instructional Leadership is characterized by a behavior focusing on the school goals and curriculum development that is, managing the school along clearly stated goals based on student learning and performance objectives looking into the instructional quality of teachers and directing supervision of instructional quality and feedback to teachers. On the other hand, Administrative Leadership is characterized by a behavior focusing on managing accountability regarding the school’s performance and administration within the education system and managing actions taken about scheduling of teachers and courses and the enforcement of school policies and procedures (OECD Report, 2009).
The two styles are not necessarily mutually exclusive. According to Pont, Nusche & Moorman (as cited in OECD 2009), improving school leadership, generally, the leader should not only engage in Instructional Leadership but should also be involved in administrative accountability and a workable bureaucracy. Both Instructional and Administrative Leadership styles are significant in the decision making about key components of instructional processes, school resources and curriculum, and accountability towards the stakeholders.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership refers to leaders who seek to create ideas and new perspectives to create a new path of growth and prosperity in front of the organization. By developing commitment, passion and loyalty among managers and staff, they mobilize organization’s members to make fundamental changes in fundaments and basis of the organization in order to be prepared and to gain necessary capabilities for moving in new directions and reaching higher ideal performance peaks (Mirkamali et al., as cited in Korejan & Shahbazi, 2016).
The transformational leadership style is broadly viewed as the most utilized leadership style, because those individuals who practice it try to change, inspire, and engage followers The transformational leadership theory is leadership that cares less about positional power and more about influential power (Hassan, Kuhnert & Lewis as cited in Sparks, 2021).
Transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower’s sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their performance (Odumeru & Ogbona 2013).
Transactional Leadership
Transactional Leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance; transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which the leader promotes compliance of his followers through both rewards and punishments. Unlike Transformational leadership, leaders using the transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they are looking to merely keep things the same. These leaders pay attention to followers’ work in order to find faults and deviations. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as when projects need to be carried out in a specific fashion (Odumeru & Ogbona 2013).
A study conducted by Mews (2019) with the faculty and staff within the United State suggests, that “multiple leadership styles were preferred by the faculty and staff. The findings suggest that a situational approach may be necessary to effectively lead in a college or university setting. In order to utilize the situational approach effectively, the leader must get to know his or her followers, identify their needs and preferences, and adjust leadership styles as necessary”.
Authentic-Servant Leadership
Authentic leadership emphasizes positive interaction and relationships with the followers. The central theme of authentic leadership emphasizes openness, honest relationship, self-awareness, and an empathetic work environment. Servant leadership also emphasizes the followers’ needs over self-interests. Servant leadership focuses on self-awareness, promoting self-esteem, empathy, leading with mind and heart through actions and emotion. Lastly, servant leadership also encourages the followers to thrive for the best solutions when encountering challenging situations (Koole as cited in Aung & Preudhikulpradab, 2021).
Servant Leadership
The term “servant-leadership”, a new leadership paradigm, was introduced by Robert Kiefner Greenleaf (1904-1990) in his first essay entitled, The Servant as Leader, written in 1970 at the age of 66. The Servant-Leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. Educational organizations may integrate servant-leadership into the schools in various ways. 1) A school could begin with a reading and discussion of Greenleaf’s writing, through the use of staff study groups, beginning with The Servant as Leader. 2) The ten characteristics of servant-leadership could be used as a framework by staff while developing school plans. 3) The concept of volunteering or “giving back” in the community and the rationale for such service could become an underpinning in the school culture (Crippen, 2005).
Path Goal Theory of Leadership Effectiveness
Path-goal theory as popularized by Northouse is a dyadic theory of supervision. It concerns relationships between formally appointed superiors and subordinates in their day-to-day functioning. It is concerned with how formally appointed superiors affect the motivation and satisfaction of subordinates. It is a dyadic theory of supervision in that it does not address the effect of leaders on groups or work units, but rather the effect of superiors on subordinates (Northouse, 1996) Path-Goal Leadership theoretically suggested that the leaders aim their effort on improving the motivational needs of the subordinates to ensure they continue their work, believing that they can perform their tasks and accomplish goals.
Adaptive Leadership
This leadership is functional, aiming to mobilize, motivate, organize, and re-focus their attention to overcome challenging situations. Adaptive leadership is another functional leadership, operating under the four principles: emotional intelligence, organizational justice, character, and development (Jensen & Luthan, as cited in Aung & Preudhikulpradab, 2021).
Theoretical Framework
Blake and Mouton illustrated and demonstrated the two behavioral dimensions of leadership that are “concern for people” on “vertical” and “concern for production” on “horizontal” axis inside this grid model. At detail conception it was composed of five leadership styles. Leadership central.com denoted that this model categorizes leaders into one of 81 possible categories with adding two additional leadership styles as well as the element of resilience.
2.1. Behavioral Dimensions: The Grid Model Is Based on Two Behavioral Dimensions
These are:
1) Concern for People: The degree in times of deciding how best to achieve a task by focusing on needs of team members, their interests, and areas of personal development.
2) Concern for Production: The degree in times of deciding how best to achieve a task by considering high productivity, concrete objectives and organizational efficiency.
2.2. Discussion
As shown in Figure 1, the model indicates a grid with concern for production on X-axis and concern for people on Y-axis where each axis ranges from 1 (Low) to 9 (high).
Figure 1. Managerial grid. Source: Business-to-you.com.
Managerial Grid Leadership Styles
The Blake-Mouton Managerial Model identified five leadership styles from various combinations of the two dimensions of leadership behavior.
1) Impoverished Leadership
Leaders with this approach have minimal concern for people and production, putting in very little effort to get work done. Blake and Mouton stated that this leadership style was the least effective of all. Low employee satisfaction and business growth make it impossible for such leaders to flourish.
2) Task Leadership
Leaders with high concern for production but low concern for people are task leaders. Their primary focus is on performance, which is why they plan and control the production environment. In order to successfully achieve business objectives, everyone’s required to perform tasks as per rules, deadlines and procedures. However, paying less attention to employees can lead to an unhappy work environment, further leading to low retention rates.
3) Country Club Leadership
Opposite of Task Leadership, the Country Club Style is characterized by a low concern for production and high concern for people. Such leaders intend to create a cordial and comfortable working environment that increases job satisfaction. People get motivated to work harder because their well-being is prioritized. However, paying less attention to business goals can lead to unsatisfactory outcomes.
4) Middle of the Road Leadership
As the title suggests, this leadership style places equal importance on organi-zational goals and personal needs. Leaders focus on performance by balancing work requirements and employee morale. However, neither production nor people’s needs are fully met.
5) Team Leadership
This leadership style is characterized by a high concern for both people and production and is regarded as the most effective leadership style. It creates a highly encouraging workplace culture, where people are motivated, productive and cooperative. They want to champion business goals that are created by the leader.
Conceptual Framework (Figure 2)
Figure 2. Conceptual Paradigm.
There may be various questionnaires in assessing the type of leadership of any academic leader, and there can be many reasons and benefits for a professional to identify their managerial style. One-way leaders to do this is by using a tool called the Blake and Mouton grid. Learning about this tool can help leaders find their own management style to help them become a better leader. The researcher finds this tool easy and fit to use for middle managers, as it has the characteristic of honesty and self-fulfilling, because it is the respondents who will rate his/herself and immediately arrives at the type of leadership she/he possesses.
3. Methodology
Research design and approach
The study was conducted in Isabela City, Basilan. Specifically, the questionnaire was administered in the four Higher Education Institutions in Basilan. The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire was utilized to determine the leadership styles of the middle managers of Basilan. Total enumeration technique was utilized to select the respondents of this study. This indicates that all the middle managers who met the inclusion criteria as stipulated became eligible respondents of the study. 35 members were selected from a population of 48 middle managers from the four HEIs in Basilan Province. The middle managers had served in the college for four consecutive semesters under the direction and supervision of the top-level manager for two academic years.
This study was made possible, and was carried out utilizing the Blake and Mouton managerial grid. A tool to assess the managerial and working style based on several factors. It plots how the managers behave on a particular grid, showing if they are more people-oriented or task-oriented in different situations. This means learning whether managers put more emphasis on everybody completing their tasks on time or the overall happiness and sense of belonging of their employees.
The grid model puts “result-oriented” managerial styles on the horizontal axis and “people-focused” styles on the vertical axis. Depending on the results after they have rated and evaluated their leadership style within the grid, they may discover their style fits as one of five main types. Impoverished Leadership, Task Leadership, Country Club Leadership, Middle of the Road Leadership, Team Leadership.
Sample selection and data collection methods
Purposive sampling method was used, the participants were the college deans, directors and department heads who have served for four consecutive semesters as middle managers in the four colleges. Data collection began with seeking an official permission to gather the data. Upon approval, respondents were selected for the study, based on the criteria as established, then, an orientation was conducted on how to fill-out the questionnaire as well as the ethical consideration of this study. The administration and retrieval of the completed questionnaires were completed.
Data analysis techniques
After completing the assessment questionnaire, the respondents transferred their answers to the spaces (People or Task), Then they plotted their final scores on the graph by drawing a horizontal line from the approximate people score (vertical axis) to the right of the matrix, and drawing a vertical line from the approximate task score on the horizontal axis to the top of the matrix. Then, they have drawn two lines from each dot until the dots have intersected. The area of intersection is the leadership dimension that they operated.
A follow-up Key Informant Interviews were administered specifically on the challenges and opportunities that the middle managers have faced. Open-ended questions were made by the researcher. Initially, objectives of the study were defined, followed by the identification of the key informants. In this study, two participants per school were randomly selected for the interview, so a total of 8 participants joined in the interview. After that relevant questions were developed. The interview was then scheduled at a convenient time for the informant. During the interview, it began with an introduction, followed by building rapport and asking open-ended questions. The interview concluded with a summary of key points, expressions of gratitude, and information about next steps. Post-interview, data was analyzed to identify key themes and insights, and findings were compiled into a comprehensive report, which was then shared with stakeholders for feedback and incorporation into the final report.
4. Results and Findings
Figure 3 below shows the graph for the profile of the respondents. It showed that, 13 out of 35 or 37.14% of the respondents are male, 17 or 48.57% are female, and the remaining 5 of 14% preferred not to tell their gender. On age, 6% are within the ages 30 and below, 14% are in the range from 31 to 40, while 43% are within 41 to 50 years old, and the rest about 13 or 37% are at the age of 50 years old and above. As to the respondent’s educational background, all the respondents are a Master’s degree holder, and about 25 or 71% are with doctorate degree, while 29% are enrolled in the doctorate program earning units in their own field of specialization. As regard the number of years in service to the institution or to the college 43% have already served 20 years and below, while the rest about 57% have served more than 20 years in the college or in the institution. All the respondents have served under the middle management for more than three years, with different designations such as college deans, program chair/head, and directors.
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Figure 3. Profile of the respondents (N = 35).
Figure 4 below shows the Blake Mouton Managerial grid with percentages of the type of leadership styles, as a result of the assessment made by the respondents where N = 35. Figure 4 showed that 13 or about 37.14% has rated themselves as Authority-Compliance Management, while 10 or about 28.57% have rated as Country Club Management, and 4 or about 11.43% were considered as under Team Management, While none or 0% under Impoverished Management.
Figure 4. Blake-mouton managerial grid results.
5. Discussion
Based on the results as shown in Figure 4, most of the respondents about 37% has evaluated themselves as having the Authority-Compliance Management. This leadership style shows a low score on concern for people but a high score in their interest in completing tasks. These leaders may continuously seek to gain more control and exert their domination over others. They may focus on the importance of wages and employment itself as a means for motivating team members to complete their daily tasks. They may also view the fear of being fired as a strong motivator for everyone on the team. When asked three of the respondents as to what are the challenges faced by them, they answered the following, below are two of their answers:
One of the challenges that I have faced is the concept of time
versus the quality of work outputs, the lee time given
the less productivity, of course it is directly proportional…
another respondent answered:
If we will become strict for compliance the faculty will get angry
If we are complacent or lenient, they will also get angry,
so, I think the challenge is the communication…
while there were many challenges were expressed most of the respondents who falls under this type of management mentioned about time, goal oriented, the leader is strict and doesn’t know how to love their people. There were about 29% who considered themselves as having a Country club management type. This style highlights higher scores on the concern for people axis but low on the delivering results axis. The name stems from a concern for employee needs and happiness, where the secondary priorities may then include task completion, timeliness and overall productivity. The drawback to this approach is that you can focus too much on personal areas than professional or productivity goals. This can result in employees failing to complete commitments, complete tasks or projects and even a lack of respect for their managers who identify as a “country club” style. When asked about the challenges that the respondents have faced, the following are some of the highlighted answers that were considered valuable in developing future plans and programs for middle managers in Basilan.
I have found it difficult to assign task or activity or to lead
in any program or project, and there is a
question on accountability.
It can also be noted that almost 23% of the respondents have evaluated themselves as Middle of the Road management. This style can appear to be the best approach to leading a team, as it highlights a manager’s mid-level scores within the managerial grid. While the overall approach may appear effective, the middle-of-the-road strategy may not always produce results as managers might feel complacent or indifferent. Most of the challenges that they have encountered is complacency toward achieving the goal, or output of any project.
We cannot also deny the fact that there were also those who evaluated themselves, about 11% on the Team Management. This type of leadership is one where the manager puts a high emphasis on both their employees and on completing projects and tasks. Blake and Mouton concluded that this can be the most effective leadership style on the grid, as it generally involves a manager who cares deeply about the company and productivity, but also prioritizes team motivation, skill-building and overall professional growth and development of their employees.
When asked about what are the challenges that they have faced?
Most of the challenges that they have made mention is on the availability of funds and administrative support, however with the kind of personality and management that they have they can just thrive amidst scarcity of funds and lack of support from the administration or top-level management.
Proposed Organizational Development Plan of Action for the Development of Middle Management
Table 1. Below shows the proposed organizational development plan.
| Grid Ranges |
LeadershipStyle |
Impact on
Employee |
Impact on
Organization |
Impact on Leaders |
Proposed Program Plan of
Activity for Organizational
Development |
| (1, 9) |
Country
Club |
Happy, Good team harmony |
Low
productivity |
Consider improving how you
direct and assign projects and tasks to your team and how you ensure accountability for
completed work. |
Consider setting small
objectives or giving task in a weekly or biweekly basis. |
| (9, 1) |
Task or
Authoritarian
or Produce or
Perish
Management |
Dissatisfaction
conflict |
High employee turnover,
Short peak
performance |
Leaders may continuously seek to gain more control and exert their domination over others. They may focus on the importance
of wages and employment itself as a means for motivating team members to complete their daily tasks. They may also view the
fear of being fired as a strong
motivator for everyone on the
team. |
Consider exploring and utilizing strategies to get the staff more engaged.Team Building activitiesConduct more meetings to
discuss and let the staff involved in it |
| (1, 1) |
Impoverished |
Dissatisfaction,
No harmony |
High turnover and insufficient operation |
Consider your work priorities, how you currently perform in your role and the ways in which you feel you have been successful as a manager. |
Find ways to develop the skills or motivating yourself at work.Consider how to motivate your team in your improvement plan by implementing team-building strategies, taking surveys or
encouraging input on
improvement needs in your
department or business. |
| (9, 9) |
Team |
Cohesive team, Satisfied,
Motivated |
Low employee turnover,
Efficient |
Consider offering your
mentorship or professional
counsel to other teammates
who perform as team leaders,
supervisors and managers |
Train new managerial hires
and model the organization’s policies and practices to ensure a knowledgeable and reliable team. |
| (5, 5) |
Middle of
the Road
Management |
Neither
discontented
nor happy |
Average
performance |
Consider evaluating your work priorities. Think about what is important to you, and consider
a list of ways you engage with
your team members. |
Consider doing strategic
planning on a regular basis |
Source: Islam, N., & Jee, P., (2019) (Enhanced by the Researcher).
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
Despite the advent of new technology, and the demand for an adaptive, and dynamism in workplace, leveraging national and even global standards, the middle managers of HEIs in Basilan have considered themselves effective in carrying out their goals and responsibilities geared toward achieving the institutions Mission and Vision, and produce highly competitive students through the hard-working and committed faculty in their respective colleges.
This study has significant practical implications as it can provide practical insights and recommendations for improving leadership effectiveness. It can help identify the most effective leadership styles, behaviors, and strategies that middle managers can employ to enhance employee motivation, engagement, and organizational outcomes.
Understanding the leadership styles of middle managers in HEIs in Basilan can shed light on how their behaviors and actions impact various aspects of the organization, such as employee satisfaction, commitment, and overall effectiveness. Thus, it is recommended that future studies be made consider these variables. Further, results of this study will serve as basis for the development of strategies and interventions aimed at maximizing employee potential, fostering a positive work environment, and promoting employee satisfaction, identifying potential leaders, assessing leadership potential, and designing targeted leadership development programs.
This can contribute to effective succession planning and building a strong leadership pipeline within HEIs. The data that will be gathered from this study and the concepts that will be produced will contribute to the broader theoretical understanding of leadership. It can help refine existing leadership theories and models by examining their applicability and effectiveness in a specific industry or domain. Additionally, it can create new knowledge and frameworks specific to the higher education context, filling gaps in the existing literature.
Table 1 outlines different leadership styles as categorized in the Managerial Grid Model, also known as the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid. It details the impacts of these styles on employees, the organization, and leaders, and presents a Proposed Program Plan of Activity for Organizational Development.
The Organizational Development Plan of Action for middle management, as detailed in Table 1, includes at least two to three proposed activities for each leadership style. Implementing these programs could help foster a more balanced and effective leadership approach. This, in turn, would likely lead to a more productive and harmonious organizational environment in Basilan Province.
Further, utilizing the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid in determining the Leadership Styles of Middle Managers in Basilan faced several challenges and shortcomings, which may be used for future research undertakings. First, the grid, which focuses on two dimensions—concern for people and concern for production—may oversimplify the complexity of leadership styles which may fail to capture the multifaceted nature of leadership in modern organizational contexts specifically in Basilan, Philippines. Second, the grid’s binary focus might not adequately address situational factors and the dynamic environment middle managers of Basilan operate. Third, the reliance on self-reporting and subjective assessments can introduce bias, as middle managers may overestimate their people’s concern or production strategies. Lastly, cultural differences might not be sufficiently accounted for, as the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid was developed in a specific cultural and organizational context that may not be universally applicable, especially in Basilan Province, Philippines with culturally-diverse middle managers.