Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee Productivity in the Manufacturing Sector in Malawi: A Case of Candlex Limited

Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group towards attaining a specific set of goals. This influence can either be negative or positive depending on the leadership style adopted. This study established the relationship between leadership styles and employee productivity in the manufacturing sector in Malawi, Southern Africa. It used a mixed method approach that included data collected from questionnaires and interviews along with statistical testing using the Spearman’s rank correlation in SPSS. Results showed that in the Malawian manufacturing sector, based on employee perceptions, the most prevalent leadership style was the autocratic leadership style and the least prevalent was the Laissez-Faire leadership style. The democratic leadership was considered the most effective style for enhancing productivity, however, only the persuasive leadership style had a positive significant correlation with employee productivity (rs = 0.554, p < 0.01). It is recommended that organisations should formulate leadership policies that mix leadership styles such as democratic and persuasive leadership to enhance employee productivity.