Leadership style profiles of middle‐level managers in social and health care

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine leadership styles among middle‐level managers in social and health care using the leadership role definitions developed by Robert Quinn et al..

Design/methodology/approach

The data were obtained by means of a postal survey sent to middle‐line managers in social and health care services in municipalities and municipal federations within the responsibility area of one university hospital in Finland. The survey was sent to 703 managers, the response rate was 62 percent. Leadership styles differences were measured according to gender, professional background, activity sector, age, work experience and unit size. To determine statistical significance, t‐test was used.

Findings

Leadership roles of middle‐level managers were evenly distributed on a relatively high level. Statistically significant differences found in leadership styles were related to gender, professional background, activity sector and unit size. Leadership styles stressed intra‐organizational activities, while extra‐organizational roles received less attention.

Originality/value

Using Quinn's model to describe leadership roles provides one view of the type of leadership style adopted by social and health care managers in a situation involving several ongoing reforms including those addressing management practices. Previously, Quinn's model has been widely employed to depict leadership roles in business management but rarely to model management in social and health care as in this paper.

Citation

Viitanen, E. and Konu, A. (2009), "Leadership style profiles of middle‐level managers in social and health care", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 108-120. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511870910953779