Attributes of Leadership Effectiveness in West Africa

This paper aims to examine the perceptions of leadership effectiveness in two West African countries - Ghana and Nigeria. It focuses on the defining variables and characteristics of interest and outlines the results of the country studies. Based on an in-depth qualitative study, the results are discussed focusing on the idiosyncrasies of culture, traditions, and leadership. The findings indicate that culture influences leadership effectiveness, and it is intrinsically linked to employee performance. In addition, spirituality and belief in deity were found to be a major influence on cultural beliefs which, in turn, influence leadership perceptions and expected leadership characteristics.