Training and development of staff has been one of the key focuses of every human resources department of any formal work organisation. This is as a result of the realisation that training is an important determinant of people’s behaviour as well as their general delivery ability at work. In realisation of this, intellectuals and researchers in industrial relations generally have put vested interest in the phenomena of training and work delivery ability. However, despite the enormous volume of literatures available in this regard, very few among them have specifically examined the importance of leadership training as a possible determinant of work delivery. Thus, this study is an attempt to cover this gap. In order to achieve this objective, survey design was used as the research design for the study. A questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents, while simple random sampling technique was used to select the study sample. Frequency distribution and percentage were used as descriptive tools, while chi-square was used as an inferential statistical tool in the study. The study found out that leadership training has a significant relationship with the identified work delivery elements measured in the study. The study concluded that leadership training has a significant effect on delivery ability of team leaders and thus recommended that leadership training should be given utmost priority in work organisations so that work delivery prospects of the employees could be realised.
One of the major challenges facing many work organisations in the world today is the problem of optimum delivery of the work force. According to Michael (
In the thinking of some scholars such as Kast and Rosenzweig (
Furthermore, some literatures have argued on the importance of training education, training and retraining in determining the work delivery prospects in the organisation. According to Meyer and Allen (
According to Robert (
In the view of Armstrong (
In respect of the above and from the researchers’ work experience, literatures on training have largely ignored examining in specific terms the importance of leadership training on delivery ability of workers in the organisation. Whereas researches have shown both from theoretical and empirical levels that leadership factor is an important issue in any work organisation. Research has vehemently shown that organisations are replicas of their leadership structure (Afshan et al.
In a study of this nature, it is important to give conceptual clarification of important terms in order to achieve a better understanding of issues under discussion.
Leadership is a special type of influential activity. It may be seen in effect in all kinds of social situations, and it is especially apparent where the situation demands that people work together towards common goals. Without mincing words, studies have shown that leadership is the lifeblood of any organisation and its importance cannot be underestimated. Although many authors have studied this phenomenon, there has not been a generally acceptable definition of the concept (Bennis
According to Raelin (
In organisations, leadership is a managerial activity the purpose of which is to direct the employees in one immediate chain of command towards the accomplishment of work goals (Nelson, Vincent & Michael
Technically, leaders are leaders because other people view them as such. It must be noted that not all leaders are effective managers and not all managers are effective leaders. In other words, leadership has been described as a process of persuasion where the leader (or team of leaders) acts as an example for a group in order to motivate and induce the group to pursue the objectives of the leader and the organisation. In this regard, it is important to realise the culture of their working environment. They are integral parts of the system in which they arise yet dependent upon two-way communication with constituents and the forces that create the circumstances in which they emerge. Inferring from the above, it could be deduced that leadership is an important factor in any work organisation.
The nature of the human animal is that he has both biological and social ability to learn and relearn. In the general sense, education has been identified as one of the basic social institutions and one of the major functions of this institution is the training of people to become viable members of the society. More specifically, training centres were established for different aspects of life in order to make people adaptable and relevant for different aspects of the society. Generally, thus, training has been seen as highly synonymous with learning. Cole (
The focus of training, however, is on the job or task to be performed. For example, the need to have efficiency and safety in the operation of particular machines or tasks. De Cenzo and Robbins (
Learning, training and development of employees are terms that are often used interchangeably. Noe et al. (
Armstrong (
Generally, training as an organisational need is placed under human resources management. Armstrong (
Conceptually, the word ‘delivery’ could connote different meanings depending on the context in which it has been used. Technically, it means the ability to take something to a specific point where it is needed or required. The word is used in marketing to determine the ability of the marketer to take a particular good or a service to the point where it is needed. In organisation, delivery is used to connote the ability of the individual or collective set of people in the organisation to be able to carry out a specific task to a point of conclusion; in organisational management, the term is generally synonymous with productivity and, generally, the major task of all and sundry in the organisation is to ensure optimum delivery of services to the organisation in order that the organisation would achieve its mission and vision.
In order to achieve optimum delivery of tasks in the organisation, a purposeful and directed leadership must be provided. Throughout human history, the developments and changes have been made by individuals and groups associated with the presence of a person as a leader. These actions have been undertaken under their guidance. Throughout the history, leadership has been one of the pillars of human societies. When leadership is considered as a function, it is an important component of management and its existence in the group is considered important for achieving the organisational goals (Bennett & Anderson
According to Shirzad, Kebriya and Zanganeh (
Maxwell (
A leader is an individual, while leadership is the function that the individual performs (Arinze
In fact, an informal or emergent leader can exhibit leadership even though they do not hold formal leadership positions (Bennis
A leader will then ensure that team members have the necessary skills and abilities to do their jobs and achieve the vision (Lian et al.
Leadership style in an organisation is one of the factors that play significant roles in enhancing or retarding the interest and commitment of the individuals in the organisation (Obiwuru et al.
It basically helps followers achieve their goals as they work in the organisational setting; it encourages followers to be expressive and adaptive to new and improved practices and changes in the environment (Ghafoor et al.
Appropriate behavioural patterns of the leader in each organisation creates a strong morale in the staff and increases their performance rate from their profession (Bennett & Anderson
By and large, the literature review exercise in this study shows that the dual concepts of training, leadership and delivery ability are important elements of any work organisation. As a result, a series of research has been conducted to show the conceptual meaning of the concepts as well as the effects of employee’s training on the productive ability of the employees as well as its effects on organisational efficiency. In other words, a critical examination of the state of literature in this field would reveal that there is dearth of literatures in the empirical analysis of the specific effects of leadership training on delivery ability of leaders in the work organisation.
This study is a survey research. Bichi (
In this study, survey approach was used as the research design. This is because of the nature of the research as it tends to observe the relationship between two operational variables. Leadership training experience stands as the independent variable and three delivery proxies which stand as dependent variables were considered for empirical testing in the research. Data used in the study were obtained through a primary source as a questionnaire was adopted as the instrument of data collection for the study. Questionnaire was adopted for the study because all the prospective respondents were literate and also because a questionnaire is very relevant for the achievement of the study objectives. The questionnaire was structured into three sections. The first section was used to retrieve socio-demographic attributes of the respondents; the second section was used to elicit information on the existing leadership training experience of the team leaders, while the third section was used to retrieve information regarding the delivery prospects of the respondents.
The population of the study consists of 75 employees who held one leadership position or an other in the organisation especially the team leaders in the MTN call centre otherwise referred to as CNSSL in Oke-Odo area of Ilorin, Kwara state. These are predominantly employees who are employed to monitor and manage the activities of subordinates in the organisation. Because of the minimal numbers of the targeted respondents in this study, all the identified team leaders represent the sample for this study.
However, of the 75 questionnaires distributed, only 69 persons returned the questionnaire and just 65 of the returned questionnaires were found to be valid for analysis in this research work. For the purpose of analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed; frequency distribution and percentage were used for descriptive analysis of data collected, while chi-square was used as the inferential statistical tool for the study. Chi-square test was used to ascertain if a significant relationship exists between the independent and dependent variables of the study.
This subsection of this article presents and analyses the data retrieved for the study.
Descriptive analysis of the training packages available for team leaders in the organisation.
Availability of formal training for team leaders | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Available | 59 | 90.7 |
Not available | 06 | 9.3 |
Total | 65 | 100.0 |
Okay | 7 | 10.7 |
Not okay | 58 | 89.3 |
Total | 65 | 100.0 |
Often | 12 | 19.2 |
Not often | 53 | 79.8 |
Total | 65 | 100.0 |
Okay | 5 | 7.07 |
Not okay | 60 | 92.3 |
Total | 65 | 100.0 |
Okay | 8 | 12.3 |
Not okay |
57 |
87.7 |
Descriptive analysis of work delivery prospect of the team leaders.
Description of target meeting habit of the team | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Always met | 48 | 73.8 |
Not always met | 17 | 26.2 |
Total | 65 | 100.0 |
High | 44 | 68.0 |
Low | 21 | 32.0 |
Total | 65 | 100 |
Okay | 51 | 78.4 |
Not okay |
14 |
21.6 |
In
On the questions measuring respondents’ view on how often training programme were conducted, 12 (19.2%) of the respondents said training is often conducted, while 53 (79.8%) of them said training is not often conducted in the organisation. On the question that sought the respondents’ opinion on the general system of training in the organisation, 5 (7.07%) said the system is okay, while 60 (92.3%) said it is not okay. Lastly, on training, the question that inquires about the organisation policy on leadership training, 8 (12.3%) described it as okay, while 57 respondents (87.7%) said it is not okay.
Relationship between leaders’ conception of the availability of training programmes and the target meeting prospect of the team.
Leaders’ conception of the availability of formal training programmes | The team’s target meeting dispositions |
||
---|---|---|---|
Always meet target | Do not always meet target | Total | |
Available | 34 | 9 | 43 |
Not available | 08 | 14 | 22 |
Total | 42 | 23 | 65 |
Chi-square calculated: |
- | - | 5.115 |
Degree of Freedom |
- | - | 1 |
Number of observation |
- | - | 65 |
Chi-square tabulated |
- | - | 3.11 |
Decision Rule | - | - | H0 rejected |
An examination of the chi-square analysis conducted in
Leaders’ conception of the availability of training programme and the team’s level of task fulfilment.
Leaders’ conception of the availability of formal training programmes | Level of team’s task fulfilment |
||
---|---|---|---|
High | Low | Total | |
Available | 26 | 15 | 41 |
Not available | 09 | 15 | 24 |
Total | 35 | 30 | 65 |
Chi-square calculated: |
- | - | 9.035 |
Degree of Freedom |
- | - | 1 |
Number of observation |
- | - | 65 |
Chi-square tabulated |
- | - | 3.11 |
Decision Rule | - | - | H0 rejected |
An observation of the chi-square analysis conducted in
Conception of the work environment and supporting organisational goals.
Leaders’ conception of the availability of formal training programmes | Aggregate description of team’s performance |
||
---|---|---|---|
Okay | Not okay | Total | |
Available | 35 | 06 | 41 |
Not available | 07 | 17 | 24 |
Total | 42 | 23 | 65 |
Chi-square calculated: ( |
- | - | 16.123 |
Degree of Freedom ( |
- | - | 1 |
Number of observation ( |
- | - | 65 |
Chi-square calculated ( |
- | - | 3.11 |
Decision Rule | - | - | H0 rejected |
An examination of the chi-square analysis conducted in
The three null hypotheses tested in this study were rejected, implying that there is leadership training that has significant relationship with work delivery prospect of team leaders in the selected organisation. The first hypothesis which shows that there is significant relationship between team leaders’ conception of the availability of training programmes and the target meeting prospect of the team is consistent with the observations of many scholars of human resources management such as Amuno (
This study is set out with the main objective of ascertaining if leadership training has significant influence on work delivery ability of leaders in a work organisation. To achieve this objective empirically, survey approach was adopted as the research design, simple random sampling technique was adopted, data were retrieved with the use of a questionnaire and both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were utilised for data analysis in the study. Specifically, the results emanating from the chi-square test show that leadership training is indeed a strong predictor for delivery prospect of respective work teams in an organisation and, by extension, the entire productivity prospect of an organisation. This could be seen not only from the review of existing literatures on the subject but also from the empirical findings of this present study. For instance, the null hypothesis which stated that there is no significant relationship between leaders’ conception of the availability of training programmes and the target meeting prospect of the team was rejected (
Therefore, based on this finding, the study recommends that the management crew of the study organisation should take the issue of leadership training as sacrosanct in order to improve delivery ability of work teams and the productivity level of its employees. Based on the study finding, this study could specifically recommend for the management to put vested interest in the training and retraining of its workforce especially those who occupy the positions of leadership in the organisation. The leadership training should be laced with appropriate training elements that would improve on the leadership quality of the trainee; this should be done systematically and scientifically in order that the objectives of the exercise could be achieved.
Although this study has contributed to knowledge gap in literatures on the reality of training, development and productivity of team leaders in a work organisation, this research is conducted in just one telecommunication outfit; there is the need to conduct similar research in other telecommunication outlets such as Etisalat, Globacom and so on. Also, there might be the need to further research on this area by extending the research to larger work organisations such as multinationals as well as other larger indigenous organisations. A related study could also be conducted to make a comparative examination of private and public organisations in terms of the leadership training culture of distinct work organisations and whether the differences in the ownership structure could lead to a significant difference in the delivery ability of the leaders.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
A.G.O. is the original author and conceiver of the idea and the topic. A.O. works in CNSSL as team leader; as such he contributed to the process of interacting with the subjects in terms of distributing the questionnaire and its retrieval. A.A.I. assisted in sorting for relevant materials on the subject. I.M. did the data editing and coding as well as its analysis and interpretations and A.S.E. assisted in general editing and structuring of the manuscript and onward submission for review.