Abstract
The thesis argues that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between a leadership style and creativity. There is a higher statistically significant positive relation between Transformational Leadership style and creativity than between creativity and the other leadership styles. Creativity (fluency and originality of thought), can be accounted for by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. To demonstrate this, the research in this study firstly uses the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to identify leadership style, and secondly three measuring instruments that measure creativity. The argument is substantiated by the results of a statistical analysis of leadership style and creativity.
A discussion of the areas that were researched, leadership style and associational/ideational fluency of thought and originality, as elements of creativity, provide the context in which the research should be viewed. A detailed discussion of the method, which was employed and the measuring instruments used to establish whether there is a statistical correlation between leadership style and creativity, precedes the experimental results. A critical discussion of the results obtained from the statistical analysis and the literature on leadership style and creativity provides a foundation for recommendations for organisations on how to use the results of this study.
The dissertation recommends that, in order to improve on research of leadership and creativity, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) could be considered as a starting point. It would also be worthwhile pursuing means of improving the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire as creativity could be accounted for by the MLQ. This measuring instrument could be recommended as a test during the selection process. It is recommended that the manager of the person also completes the instrument and rates the person from his/her perspective when similar research is done in future.
Although scoring seems to be a difficulty characteristic of any measurement that involves divergent thinking, it would be of value to pursue means of further improving the Remote Associates Test (RAT) for future research purposes in the South African context. Objectivity in the scoring of divergent thinking tests seem to be difficult to achieve. In order to score fluency and originality of thought objectively, use can be made of experts, who have the knowledge and skills required, to provide such evaluations.
The findings in this research are valuable because of a lack of previous research on the relationship between creativity and leadership style.
Dr. J. Zaaiman