Assessment of Leadership Styles and Engagement of Local Student Government

Each educational institution in the Philippines has student leaders involved in various extra-curricular activities, including councils and governments. The Local Student Government (LSG) provides a platform for students to develop leadership skills and participate in decision-making processes. Leadership is crucial for organizational success, with different styles such as autocratic, democratic, transactional, transformational, and laissez-faire impacting team morale and effectiveness. Identifying the optimal leadership styles for LSGs that can impact the student government effectiveness, member participation, and overall engagement. By conducting surveys and interviews with local student government key officials, the research seeks to identify which leadership styles foster a positive environment for student involvement, decision-making, and community building. Overall, respondents in the study showed a preference for democratic and transactional leadership styles, highlighting the importance of effective leadership in student organizations as it was characterized by vision, inspiration, and individual consideration, greater involvement and satisfaction among members. The researchers recommend organizing seminars on leadership styles, electing key officials to strengthen democratic values, formalizing responsibilities, and emphasizing holistic development through training on topics like finance and stress management. They suggest avoiding micromanagement, allowing personnel to create projects, fostering a family-like culture with rewards and recognition, and maintaining low turnover by reducing workload pressures. Additionally, interviews should include questions about leadership style preferences, and the study should be replicated in different settings for further insights.