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This study explored the relationship between leadership styles adopted by managers in the district hospital in the Limpopo province in South Africa (SA) and service delivery to rural communities in the area. This study was essential as over 70% of district hospitals in SA are non-compliant with meeting its service delivery commitments. There was a need to investigate whether the challenges associated with the poor service delivery were related to the leadership styles adopted by managers in the district hospital. Both transformational and transactional leadership styles formed the basis of the study. A quantitative research methodology and case study were used. A Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was used to determine which leadership styles were adopted and the outcomes at the hospital. The survey was completed by seventy managers in the hospital. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that certain leadership styles, as well as attributes impacted on service delivery to communities. The data suggested that, although some transformational leadership traits were exhibited by managers at the hospital, this had not necessarily led to improved service delivery to communities. The study was therefore critical, as it has become evident to policymakers that an expansion in the scope and quality of health care to rural communities in SA is vital. Recommendations were made for the improvement of service delivery by the hospital. An integrated leadership approach is therefore essential with a view to addressing challenges in the hospital and improving service delivery to the community.

The purpose of this study was to establish the use of strategic thinking variables in a public university, the University of Zambia. Nine constructs of strategic thinking variables in this study are framed as strategic thinking general, thinking in time, intently focused, systems perspective, intelligent opportunism, hypothesis-driven, reframing, reflecting, and environmental analysis. A qualitative research design encompassing a review of documents and archival records, direct observation, and sense-making informed the evidence gathered in this study. The pre-strategic thinking phase covers the period 1966 to 1993, while the nascent strategic thinking phase covers the period 1994 to 2012 and the evolutionary strategic thinking phase covers the period 2013 to 2022. The findings of this study have revealed that in the pre-strategic thinking phase, the University was guided by the national development agenda for human capital development. The absence of an Institutional strategic plan and associated strategy documents points to a disconnection between optimal strategy and the strategic intentions of the University managers. In both the nascent strategic thinking phase and the evolutionary phase, significant gaps exist in the utilization of strategic thinking variables thinking in time, reframing, reflecting, environmental analysis, focused intent, and intelligent opportunism. This study suggests the University of Zambia should engage employees in the use of strategic thinking variables, with a view to increasing the chances of organizational success. Further, it seems possible that the hitherto limited use of strategic thinking as a practice in the University of Zambia may be hindering the achievement of organizational set goals. Through this conceptualization, this paper has attempted to fill a gap in strategic thinking literature as it pertains to public universities

Previous work in Kenyan public hospitals has revealed leadership gaps and poor communication between senior administration and lower cadres as an impediment to achieving better practice. Management training for senior health professionals has been recognized as a priority and is now being provided. The research study explored the influence of leadership skills on effective departmental leadership in Mogotio Sub County. The study used descriptive designs and targeted 32 hospitals consisting of 185 managerial staff in Mogotio Sub County. The stratified random sampling method was used to generate a sample of 126 respondents. Data was collected from this sample using questionnaires and analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the use of SPSS version 24. The correlation analysis determined there is a positive and statistically significant association between leadership skills and effective departmental leadership (r=756, p=.000). This verdict was reinforced by the linear regression results (?=.286, p=.001). The study concludes that leadership skill greatly helps improve effective departmental leadership in the public health sector. The study recommends that hospitals ought to emphasize mentoring leaders in the clinical setup in order to improve the effectiveness of leadership at the departmental level. There is a need to inculcate leadership training into the hospitals’ culture.