leadership qualities

Effective leadership is important to the functioning and development of private higher education institutions. This study analyzed leadership experiences and perceptions at Africa Renewal University (AfRU), focusing on the qualities and practices perceived to contribute to effective leadership. A mixed-method case study design was used, combining structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with students, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, management and senior leaders. The study obtained responses from 133 participants out of a target population of 200, representing a 66.5% response rate. Transformational leadership was the most frequently identified leadership style across all respondent groups, reported by 86.96% of students, 77.5% of teaching staff, 66.67% of non-teaching staff, and 70% of management and senior leaders. Among the leadership qualities examined, integrity and ethics received the highest number of responses, followed by effective communication, problem-solving and decision-making. Empathy and emotional intelligence and visionary thinking were also identified, although their emphasis varied across respondent groups. The findings indicate that perceived leadership effectiveness at AfRU was associated with a combination of ethical conduct, effective communication and practical leadership capabilities within a predominantly transformational leadership context. The study highlights the importance of developing leaders who can combine ethical character with effective communication, decision-making and problem-solving in private higher education.

The effectiveness of young football players’ athletic training is determined by the interaction of physical, technical, tactical, theoretical, integrated, and psychological components. In team sports, communicative and organizational inclinations are of particular importance as psychological prerequisites for effective interaction and the realization of leadership potential. Purpose. To identify and compare the age-related characteristics of communicative and organizational inclinations in young football players and to determine their role in the implementation of leadership functions in team activities. Materials and methods. To achieve the aim of the study, an analysis was conducted analysis of scientific and methodological literature, comparison, psychological assessment using the «Assessment of Communicative and Organizational Inclinations» by V. V. Sinyavskyi and B. O. Fedorishyn, and methods of mathematical statistics, including the Kruskal–Wallis test. The study involved three groups of football players (n=108): aged 9–10 (n=33), 13–14 (n=37), and 16–17 years (n=38) from Children and Youth Sports Schools in Kyiv.Results. Significant individual variability in the indicators was established. Communicative inclinations were found to be more developed than organizational inclinations. Their mean values were 3.00±1.58, 2.92±1.40, and 3.21±1.45 points, respectively, across the three age groups, while organizational inclinations were 2.03±1.33, 2.24±1.42, and 2.34±1.38 points. The oldest group demonstrated a higher proportion of athletes with high and very high levels of communicative inclinations, whereas a low level predominated in organizational inclinations across all age groups. No statistically significant age-related differences were found in communicative (H=0.75; p=0.69) or organizational inclinations (H=1.11; p=0.57). Conclusions. Communicative and organizational inclinations are important psychological prerequisites, but not direct indicators, of leadership function implementation. The communicative component creates prerequisites for information, motivational, mediating, and representative functions, while the organizational component contributes to planning, coordination, and responsibility-taking. The findings support the need for targeted development of these characteristics and the application of distributed leadership principles.