Abstract:
This study sought to establish the concepts of effective leadership espoused by
the seven top-most leaders in Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM). The study
aimed to find out the extent to which those concepts were practiced and how they
were influencing the formulation of leadership development and succession plans of
the organization.
The study adopted a non-experimental cross-sectional study design with a
combination of descriptive and explanatory research approaches. To facilitate the
collection of quantitative and qualitative data, the questionnaire used contained both
closed- and open-ended questions. The researcher used the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze the quantitative data.
The study revealed that the concepts of effective leadership that the said
leaders in EAM espoused could lead to effectiveness if allowed to influence practice.
Further, the study found that these concepts were significantly influencing leadership
practice. However, there appeared to be other forces and/or values either in the
organization or in the leaders themselves that were hindering the formulation of
leadership succession plans.
In view of the findings, the researcher recommended that the leaders in EAM
need to endeavor to account for the lack of clearly laid out leadership development
and succession plans since these plans are not only a mark of effective leadership, but
are essential to an organization's continued effectiveness. The leaders should establish
the forces/values, either in themselves or in the organization, which account for lack
of clearly laid out leadership succession plans.
