Employees’ Perception on Authentic Leadership Qualities and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: Lessons for Private Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

Having the right leadership quality is a necessity in the tertiary educational landscape. This study reports employees’ perception on authentic leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) in private tertiary institutions in Ghana. Descriptive design and a quantitative approach were used in this study. 353 respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling method. It was found that employees' perceptions do not always reflect the reality of leadership trait.  The study, however, registered a low level of performance in sportsmanship as regards level of OCB. As higher education is interested in leadership and its ability to ensure OCB, it is recommended that management of the respective private tertiary institutions take cognizance of the leadership traits they exhibit as this has a potential to open up opportunities for interactions that break the traditional leadership paradigm, encouraging faculty and staff to aspire to leadership roles. Since authentic leadership positively influences OCB, private tertiary institutions should promote leaders who are capable of using effective leadership styles to influence their followers to achieve desirable outcomes.