Servant leadership and job satisfaction within private healthcare practices

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of servant leadership on job satisfaction within private healthcare practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Criterion sampling has been used to draw a sample of private healthcare practitioners and their employees. The data collected from 241 useable questionnaires have been statistically analysed. Factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients have been used to assess the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument, and multiple regression analyses have been performed to test the influence of the dimensions of servant leadership on job satisfaction.

Findings

The findings show that private healthcare practitioners display the dimensions of servant leadership investigated in this study. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship between developing others and job satisfaction for both sample groups, but only between caring for others and job satisfaction for the employee sample group, was reported. Acts of humility and servanthood by practitioners were not found to influence job satisfaction.

Practical implications

Educators can use the findings of this study to identify gaps in the leadership training of healthcare practitioners, and healthcare regulators can use the recommendations provided to implement appropriate interventions to ensure that healthcare practitioners fulfil their mandate of practising in an appropriate manner.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the limited understanding of servant leadership among private healthcare practitioners and it provides recommendations on how private healthcare practitioners can improve their servant leadership behaviour.

Citation

Farrington, S.M. and Lillah, R. (2019), "Servant leadership and job satisfaction within private healthcare practices", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 148-168. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-09-2017-0056