The Restructuring of a University: A Call for the Exhibition of Transformational Leadership Behaviours

By:

Transformational leaders are often regarded as change agents who do not only manage change but are also the initiators thereof. One university of technology in South Africa is currently undergoing restructuring which inevitably calls upon leaders to exhibit transformational leadership behaviours with a view to initiating and managing such change effectively. The aim of this research was to measure the level of transformational leadership amongst the so-called middle management within the university and determine the extent to which these leaders would be able to both initiate and manage the restructuring exercise. The research design involved administering the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to 51 leaders (n = 51). The results of the MLQ do confirm that there are some transformational leadership behaviours lacking in the repertoire of some leaders, thereby negatively affecting their ability to initiate and manage the restructuring exercise.

Stream: Educational Leadership and Management

Paper: Restructuring of a University, The

Gift Vinger completed both the BA and BAHons degrees cum laude as well as the University Education Diploma. In his undergraduate studies, he won several awards such as best first year male student, and best final year degree student accompanied by the Vice-Chancellor's Gold Medal Award. He completed an MA degree at Penn State University and returned home to South Africa to resume lecturing at Vista University. He then completed an MBA with Potchefstroom University and thereafter completed a DPhil in Human Resource Management: Leadership in Performance & Change with the University of Johannesburg. He worked for Vista University as a lecturer, Assistant Campus Registrar, and Campus Registrar. He also worked as Manager: Support Services and Senior Director: General Administration at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT).He is currently Registrar at CUT. His interest lies in leadership, change management, and organisational development.