ABSTRACT 

The topic of this research is Analysis of corporate leadership and employee empowerment in Nigerian Banks. (A Case Study of three selected banks). The population of the study was 365 while the researcher used the Yaro Yamani formular in the determination of the sample size, which was 190. The type  of the research design used was survey research. The researcher used both the  primary and secondary sources in obtaining the relevant data used in the course of the study. The primary data was collected using the instrument of questionnaires while that of the secondary data was obtained using written textbooks journals, magazines, newspapers and the use of library. The researcher used chi-square in the testing of the hypothesis formulated while simple percentage was used in analyzing the research questions. The finding of the research study was that there is a direct relationship between leadership style and employee performance and that there is a direct relationship between employee empowerment and employee performance. The researcher recommended among others that corporate  leaders especially in the banking industry should review the leadership style practiced in their organization.   

    CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION  

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY  

 Leadership is a subject that has long excited interest among scholars and managers of men and resources. The term connotes images of powerful dynamic persons who command victorious grieves, direct corporate empires from top gleaming skyscraper of shape the  course of nation (Yukul 1981). Interest in this subject existed as long as people have been studying human behaviour. In fact leadership behavior arises where two or more persons gather for political, economic, social or religious purpose. Mekeaghar (1997:180) attested that leadership is not the giving of direct, rather it is the facilitation of directedness, it is an activity of a group which cannot actually be separated from the dynamic interaction of the communal process of envisioning. As such, leadership entails responsibility of self and others, not only in the identified leader but also in each member of the group within which leadership implies not only the interrelatedness of persons but also their common direction. In actual fact, leadership is more than power or authority, it actually implies some degree of voluntary compliance by followers. Peters (1991:340) stressed that in today’s business world, leadership is a subject of profound importance and of critical relevance to our day to day activities. The success or failure of enterprises, the ability to support families (and employee families), and a sense of self worth and achievement, all have direct links to the performance of corporate leaders. Leader decisions change companies and lives because leadership is both the adhesive that binds a work group together and the catalyst for employee motivations. The organization that exists today is dramatically different from that which hitherto, existed or which will exist in the future, because technology, the customs have all changed and will continue to change. Today, the market place is global, the customs are more demanding, the capabilities to communicate, especially via the Internet, is growing exponentially. Besides, employees are even withholding their allegiance until incorporated  into the decision making process. Leaders recognize that while the fundamental principles by which they do business in changing rapidly (Ferris, 1997). Today, job requires more thinking, more customers services, more initiative and more skills application, physical labour is obviously less required.  It is a completely different world requiring different leadership techniques. The leadership as the eyes, ears, heart and soul of the organization constantly scans the emerging changes in the world and redefines the business in order to increase its viability overtime.