Transformational Leadership Potential At A University Of Technology

Abstract

In South Africa as elsewhere in the world, higher education institutions have been criticised for a lack of transformation. This apparent lack of transformation called into question the capability of the leaders within these institutions to effectively lead change and transform the higher education institutional landscape. The aim of this study was to explore the transformational leadership competency potential amongst managers in a university of technology in South Africa. The measures of potential used are eight competency factors known as the ‘Great Eight’ (Bartram, 2005) derived from Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32) scale scores. The OPQ32r was administered to 111 managers within a university of technology. The majority of respondents had a balanced mix of styles between a transformational and transactional focus. These leaders not only exhibit less transformational competencies but also an insufficient strong transactional focus. These findings have severe implications for the transformation of higher education institutions in South Africa.