Yohannes Workaferahu (PhD)Mikiyas Teklehaymanot2025-05-082025-05-082025-03-01https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/5394This study is deployed to examine the effects of leadership styles on employee motivation within six selected multi national corporations ( MNCs) located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The primary objectives include identifying the leadership styles practiced, examining the components of leadership styles that significantly influence motivation, assessing the relationship between transfer national, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles with motivation, and identifying the dominant leadership style for enhancing employee motivation. A survey was distributed to 154 employees, with 138 fully completed responses analyzed using SPSS Version 24. To address this concern, on the theoretical literature review touches Trait, Behavioral and Contingency or situational approach that are related to leadership styles and regarding the dependent variable motivation Abrahams Maslow Hierarchy of need theory and expectancy theories were discussed. The findings indicate that transformational leadership, with dimensions such as idealized influence and inspirational motivation, has the most significant positive effect on employee motivation, followed by transactional leadership. On the contrary Laissez-faire leadership exhibited a negative relationship with motivation. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that leadership styles account for 74. 3% of the variance in employee motivation, with transfer national leadership emerging as the dominant style. The study highlights that organizational politics and bias associated wit h leadership dimensions, particularly idealized influence and inspirational motivation, may hinder fair promotions. Employees reported satisfaction with benefits and promotion opportunities but indicated areas for improvement in skills development and work activities. Recommendations include implementing unbiased performance evaluations, enhancing inter-departmental communication, and investing in staff training. Future research could explore leadership styles' effects on other sectors, such as healthcare or banking, and examine cultural influences on motivation with in MNCs with organizational politics as a mediator.enThesis