Leadership Learning: A Mechanism to Enhance Performance Among Municipal Leaders in the Bushbuckridge Municipality

This research examined leadership learning and how it influences performance of municipal managers in the Bushbuckridge municipality. Drawing from the relevant literature and guided by Mattone’s (2012), Morse and Buss’s (2008) conceptual framework for leadership learning, we adopted a qualitative, interpretive research design. Data was collected through open-ended, semistructured interviews from seven municipal managers coded R 1 to R 7. The interviews were analysed qualitatively, and data were organised and arranged into themes that described participants’ views regarding leadership learning and performance enhancement. The participants confirmed that through leadership learning they experienced enhanced communication and better decision-making skills. They also indicated that they emerged out of the leadership learning sessions motivated and more emotionally aware of the need to adapt to external and internal changes that influence today’s workplace. The authors recommend that municipalities must invest sufficient resources in leadership learning development programmes. These programmes must be tailored to their specific needs and incorporate a combination of formal leadership training, change management skills, continuous and experiential learning, mentoring, and coaching. The authors emphasize the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of leadership development programmes and prioritising leadership learning as a continuous individual and organisational development process. The findings of this study have important implications for municipal organisations seeking to enhance performance of their leaders and improve their overall effectiveness and efficiency.