Abstract

This study aims to discover the most dominant leadership style among women leaders in the Jordanian public sector, as well as determine the relationship between the displayed leadership style and the commitment of the followers of these women. The study adopts a quantitative research design using a questionnaire that was distributed to 554 participants who were employees in the public sector in northern region of Jordan. Women leaders mainly adopted laissez-faire as their dominant leadership style, followed by autocratic leadership style as reported by their followers. Democratic leadership style was the least popular among the women leaders. Compared to laissez-fair and autocratic leadership styles, democratic leadership style was more strongly associated with organizational commitment. The leadership style adopted was found to be influenced by demographic and occupational factors, which also influenced organizational commitment levels. It is suggested that women leaders should adopt leadership styles that help them win the commitment of their followers, such as democratic, while ensuring targets and objectives are being met. This study is one of the first to explore followers’ assessments toward women’s leadership styles and how it affects organizational commitment in the Jordanian public sector and the Arab world.