Abstract:
Leadership is one of the critical approaches used to manage employee performance within organizations. How a leader directs and guides subordinates depends greatly on leadership style(s). Local governments need effective leadership style(s) to operate efficiently. Mbale local government leadership is persistently facing friction between managers and their subordinates in areas of responsibility and decision making. There was need to establish the leadership style(s) employed by managers of Mbale Local government. Study
objectives; to find out how autocratic, laissez-faire styles of leadership affected employee performance, establish the relationship between democratic leadership and employee performance. Descriptive research design was used. Study Population included; district executive council, councilors, Heads of departments and technical staff. Qualitative approach was employed in data analysis. Questionnaires and interview guide were used to collect data. The key findings; autocratic and laissez-fair leadership styles dominated Mbale local government leadership, the study revealed positive relationship between democratic style of leadership and employee performance. Ignorance about leadership
styles was found critical. In conclusion, leaders use the right leadership styles to influence subordinates in organizations for effective performance. The study recommends amongothers, capacity building of leaders on leadership styles
