Predominant Leadership Styles

This study investigated the predominant leadership styles employed by secondary school directors in Arada Sub-City, Addis Ababa, with the aim of understanding their day-to-day practices and implications for school management. A quantitative descriptive design was adopted, drawing on data from 262 teachers selected through representative sampling across eight schools. Structured questionnaires with closed-ended items provided the primary data, which were analyzed using descriptive statistic percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations. Results revealed that servant leadership emerged as the most dominant style (Mean = 29.54), followed closely by delegative/laisser-faire (Mean = 29.38) and autocratic leadership (Mean = 29.19). The findings suggest that directors frequently blend leadership approaches, but demonstrate a strong preference for supportive, participatory, and growth-oriented practices rather than rigid hierarchical control. These results underscore the importance of strengthening servant leadership through targeted training, ensuring that delegative practices are balanced with accountability, and limiting autocratic measures to urgent or disciplinary contexts.