Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study further develops the transformational leadership theory and ideals for public leadership with an ethical inclusion by testing whether this addition affects two important organizational outcomes, employee satisfaction and leadership effectiveness in federal agencies. The purpose is to delineate an exceptional model for public leadership. The analysis incorporates four ethics, termed by this exploration as public ethics, as a complementary addition to transformational leadership. Two components, transformational leadership (inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and idealized influence) and individualized consideration, define transformational leadership. The findings suggest that both transformational leadership and public ethics positively relate to employee satisfaction and leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, the study finds that public ethics have a stronger positive relationship to employee satisfaction and leadership effectiveness than transformational leadership and individualized consideration, although transformational leadership better explains the variance in employee satisfaction and individualized consideration better explains leadership effectiveness than public ethics. In addition, the analysis portrays public leaders as low in transformational leadership and public ethics while high in individualized consideration behaviors. Thus, the study suggests that public leaders need to emphasize the development of transformational and ethical leaders to build a more satisfied workforce and effective public leader.