Leading to Perform

A Narrative Review of Leadership Style and Work Performance in Indonesian Companies, Public Agencies, and Student Organizations

Abstract

Leadership is often regarded as a key determinant of performance, yet evidence from Indonesian studies has not been synthesized across organizational contexts. This narrative review, based on a structured search of Indonesian-language articles published in 2013–2024, examines whether and under what conditions leadership style is associated with work performance among company employees, public-sector staff, and student organization members. Nine cross-sectional quantitative studies were synthesized thematically by vote counting. Five reported a significant positive partial association in models with one or two predictors. In models with additional predictors, the results were mixed: two studies found a non-significant association once organizational culture, or communication and organizational motivation, were included, and one found a significant negative coefficient alongside a positive effect of communication. Only two studies explicitly examined democratic leadership, and none examined transformational leadership. The evidence is limited by cross-sectional designs, self-report data, and small samples (n = 10–118). Leadership style tends to be positively associated with performance in simple models, but the association is not uniform and depends on model specification and context. Future research should use validated instruments, multi-source or longitudinal designs, and test psychological mediators and cultural moderators.