Destructive leadership behaviors among heads of departments in higher education: perceptions of subordinates in Ghana

Although the phenomenon of destructive leadership is ubiquitous and its negative impact on the higher education (HE) sector is global, it is still an area underexplored, and the few studies on it focus attention predominantly on the HE context of the developed world. This study used the HE context of Ghana as an example of a developing country to determine, from subordinate perceptions, the prevalence of destructive leadership behaviors among heads of departments (HoDs). Five hundred and forty-six respondents from 180 higher education institutions across the country were involved in a cross-sectional survey based on a modified version of the Destructive Leadership Questionnaire (DLQ). The research found that although subordinates generally thought the behaviors of HoDs in Ghanaian HE were destructive, the perceptions varied significantly according to the type of institution. Also, subordinates’ statuses and demographics influenced how they perceived the destructive leadership behaviors of HoDs. Furthermore, gender, age, and years of employment significantly varied with the perceived prevalence of destructive leadership behaviors of HoDs in Ghanaian HEIs. The research mainly recommended a more nuanced approach to dealing with the phenomenon of destructive leadership so that the public and private dichotomy in the prevalence of destructive leadership behaviors in global HE may be addressed.