Exploring The Correlation Between Leadership Styles and Communication Satisfaction as Perceived by Members of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Philippines

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have significant impacts on society by supporting the marginalized through their programs. However, leadership and communication in this context remain underexplored. This study aimed to determine the correlation between leadership styles (i.e., directive, achievement-oriented, supportive, participative) and communication satisfaction (CS) (i.e., personal feedback, supervisory communication, horizontal communication, organizational integration, corporate information, communication climate, and media quality) as perceived by NGO members in the Philippines. Path-goal theory of leadership (P-GTL) and CS were theoretically integrated to determine the correlation between these variables. This quantitative correlational research conducted an online survey to 92 NGO members in the Philippines. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rho were used to analyze collected data. Findings showed supportive leadership style was the perceived dominant leadership style, and NGO members were most satisfied with supervisory communication and least satisfied with personal feedback. Even though supportive leadership style was perceived as the dominant style, directive leadership showed the strongest correlation with overall CS (rs = .590, p = .000). This research addresses the research gap on P-GTL and CS within NGOs in the Philippines. These findings offer insights that may be useful in understanding leadership styles and CS in NGO settings. Future researchers are recommended to explore other research methods to gather in-depth narratives of the relationship between leadership and communication in the voluntary sector.