The Impact of Leadership Styles Upon Employee Commitment: A case study of the Abu Dhabi Police in the UAE

This study examined the extent to which leadership styles affect the organisational commitment of the employees at Abu Dhabi Police in the UAE. The aim was to find out whether there is a significant correlation between preferred leadership styles and organisational commitment. It sought to assess the current leadership styles and practices in order to identify patterns and trends that have a direct impact on employee commitment within Abu Dhabi Police (ADP), as leadership styles drive employee commitment which in turn leads to better organisational performance. The leadership literature has both depth and breadth. It is a highly researched topic area, which has been approached from many perspectives involving different organisational settings. Much of the leadership debate focused on leaders’ characteristics and attributes, while popular and common models, theories and styles are investigated to find out the impact of leadership effectiveness in these organisational settings. The conclusion that can be drawn from the broad and long leadership debate is that it has advanced the understanding of leadership and its associated training, as well as generating useful insights, all of which is positive, but the term ‘leadership’ remains a source of personal interpretation. Today, the leadership topic is big business. Leadership gurus/business celebrities compete to sell leadership wisdom and courses for transforming people into effective leaders. Agencies, academic courses, etc. all claim leadership expertise on how to nurture and develop leaders by providing ready-made packages, tool-kits and guidelines for forward-thinking people who aspire to be leaders. Based on the purpose of the study, the nature of the problem and the research questions, this study adopted quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments. This allows the researcher to address the multidimensional nature of leadership and employee commitment by investigating the perspectives of the key stakeholders at ADP. Interviews were conducted to obtain qualitative data in the form of words and meaning to address issues that may not have been covered by the survey. The quantitative survey allowed for statistical analysis and numerical evidence about leadership styles and their impact on employee commitment at ADP. The study findings revealed that there is a predominance of attributes of transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership at ADP. Findings showed that the leadership style is a strong driver of employee commitment. Employees are more committed if the organisation meets their expectations and needs. The findings also showed that the current levels of commitment at ADP are adequate; there is a sense of loyalty at every level. Findings from interviews with key ADP stakeholders revealed that levels of commitment are high but leaders must do more to address the particular needs of employees to secure higher performance. Interviewees stated that the ADP has a strong organisational structure which provides confidence and commitment for employees. However, in order to achieve its mission objectives, there is a need for a transparent policy committed to providing each employee with a sound working environment, complete with clear reward schemes which inspire and motivate employees to achieve a high level of performance. The findings have practical implications as they will benefit the ADP leadership, initially in understanding the drivers and challenges of employee commitment. The findings will also help formulate a future strategy to enhance employee commitment by effectively exploiting this study data. Finally, this study has expanded the existing literature and provides a platform for further research on the impact of leadership styles on employee commitment in the UAE.