Political Leadership in Ghana: 1957 to 2010

Abstract

Leadership is a universally recognized concept whose practice and interpretation is culturally framed. The fundamental thrust of this study is to examine the leadership journey in Ghana with specific reference to political leaders, military or civilian; and their administrative leadership styles. Four outlined variables in the form of personality, values, role and setting constituted the framework of analysis, which portrays an objective methodology toward the illustration and understanding of the operations of administrative leadership. It was revealed that most of the democratically elected leaders started as democratic, charismatic and servant-leaders on their leadership journey, but along the line became authoritarian and tribalistic; hence losing the confidence of the populace. This calls for potential leaders to undergo some training and mentoring before taking up the mantle of leadership, since leaders are made and not born. Thus, the countless coup d’états that occurred illustrate the hunger of Ghanaians in search of a leader who cares for their socio-economic wellbeing.