Leadership styles and their impact on employee motivation

A study in a mining company in the railway sector

Abstract

Leadership is a decisive factor in the contemporary organizational context, directly influencing team motivation and performance. This study aimed to identify the predominant leadership styles—transformational, transactional, servant, and laissez-faire—in a large railway sector mining company and analyze their influence on employee motivation and perceived efficacy. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach, employing a quantitative component with basic statistical analysis using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) administered to five leaders, and semi-structured interview scripts with fifteen followers, whose data were subsequently analyzed through content analysis. The results indicated a predominance of the transformational and transactional styles, with a significant presence of servant leadership. The qualitative analysis revealed that leadership effectiveness is associated with the promotion of trust, emotional support, and transparent communication. It was found that the transformational and servant styles favor motivation and psychological safety, with the latter being essential for human development. It is concluded that effective leadership requires a balance between inspiration, structure, and care for the well-being of the followers, thereby minimizing the incidence of the laissez-faire style.