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This chapter seeks to increase our understanding of health care employees' perceptions of effective and ineffective leadership behavior within their organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter seeks to increase our understanding of health care employees' perceptions of effective and ineffective leadership behavior within their organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 59 employees working in a diversity of positions within the case study hospital. Interviewees were asked to cite behaviors of both an effective and an ineffective leader in their organization. They were also asked to clarify whether their example described the behavior of a formal or informal leader. Grounded theory data analysis techniques were used and findings were interpreting using existing leadership behavior theories.
Findings
(1) There was a consistent link between effective leadership and relationally oriented behaviors. (2) Employees identified both formal and informal leadership within their hospital. (3) There were both similarities and differences with respect to the types of behaviors attributed to informal versus formal leaders. (4) Informants cited a number of leadership behaviors not yet accounted for in the leadership behavior literature (e.g., ‘hands on’, ‘professional’, ‘knows organization’). (5) Ineffective leadership behavior is not simply the opposite of effective leadership.
Research implications
Findings support the following ideas: (1) there may be a relationship between the type of job held by employees in health care organizations and their perceptions of leader behavior, and (2) leadership behavior theories are not yet comprehensive enough to account for the varieties of leadership behavior in a health care organization. This study is limited by the fact that it focused on only those leadership theories that considered leader behavior.
Practical implications
There are two practical implications for health care organizations: (1) leaders should recognize that the type of behavior an employee prefers from a leader may vary by follower job group (e.g., nurses may prefer relational behavior more than managerial staff do), and (2) organizations could improve leader development programs and evaluation tools by identifying ineffective leadership behaviors that they want to see reduced within their workplace.
Social implications
Health care organizations could use these findings to identify informal leaders in their organization and invest in training and development for them in hopes that these individuals will have positive direct or indirect impacts on patient, staff, and organizational outcomes through their informal leadership role.
Value/originality
This study contributes to research and practice on leadership behavior in health care organizations by explicitly considering effective and ineffective leader behavior preferences across multiple job types in a health care organization. Such a study has not previously been done despite the multi-professional nature of health care organizations.
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Valerie I. Sessa, Jillian Ploskonka, Elphys L. Alvarez, Steven Dourdis, Christopher Dixon and Jennifer D. Bragger
The purpose of our research was to use Day, Harrison, and Halpin’s, (2009) theory of leadership development as a premise to investigate how students’ constructive development is…
Abstract
The purpose of our research was to use Day, Harrison, and Halpin’s, (2009) theory of leadership development as a premise to investigate how students’ constructive development is related to their leader identity development and understanding of leadership. Baxter Magolda’s Model of Epistemological Reflection (MER, 1988, 2001) was used to understand constructive development, Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen’s Leadership Identity Development (2005) to determine leader identity, and Drath’s principles of leadership (2001) to determine understanding of leadership. Fifty junior and senior college student leaders filled out the MER and participated in an interview about their leadership experiences. Interviews were coded according to the above constructs of leader identity development and leadership understanding. Although there was a relationship between leader identity development and understanding of leadership, no relationship was found between these two constructs and constructive development. Findings suggest that most of the student leaders still depend on others to help them construct reality. Furthermore, many believe that because they are in a leadership role, they are leaders while others are not.
Valerie I. Sessa and Cristina Matos
The purpose of this study was to evaluate final projects in a freshman leadership course (combining grounding in leadership theories with a service-learning component) to…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate final projects in a freshman leadership course (combining grounding in leadership theories with a service-learning component) to determine what students learned about leadership, themselves as developing leaders, and leading in the civic community, and how deeply they learned these concepts. Students found situational leadership theories, team leadership theories, and leadership principles (Drath, 2001) most relevant to their experiences. Personally, students learned about themselves as individuals, leaders, team members, and community members. Civically, students learned how to apply leadership theories, work in teams, and about the community as a system. In terms of depth of learning, based on Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy, students were able to identify, describe, and apply concepts and to some extent analyze and synthesize them. These findings suggest that using service learning to help students learn about both the theory and practice of leadership is a viable alternative.
Planners are expected to leave leadership to elected officials. Yet, they are often asked to do more. Should planners lead? The purpose of this paper is to examine how leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
Planners are expected to leave leadership to elected officials. Yet, they are often asked to do more. Should planners lead? The purpose of this paper is to examine how leadership is seen in the profession and then outline major theories of leadership and planning.
Design/methodology/approach
Using content analysis, the major theories of planning and descriptions of what planners do from professional planning organizations’ codes of ethics from around the world are compared.
Findings
Results indicate that new ways of thinking about leadership (Group leadership, Servant, Adaptive, Authentic and Followership) can help planners find leadership styles that fit their comfort zones better than old leadership definitions emphasizing heroic individuals.
Originality/value
Existing literature regarding leadership in planning indicates that planners must run for office if they are to lead. This examination of planners’ codes of ethics and newer theories of leadership indicates they can be leaders and operate well within current ethical boundaries.
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Haley Q. Traini, Catlin M. Pauley, Aaron J. McKim, Jonathan J. Velez and Jon C. Simonson
Postsecondary leadership experiences provide students opportunities to gain, enhance, and refine capacities useful in addressing the complex challenges of the world. Our…
Abstract
Postsecondary leadership experiences provide students opportunities to gain, enhance, and refine capacities useful in addressing the complex challenges of the world. Our exploratory, descriptive qualitative study examined the motivations of postsecondary students to engage in long-term curricular leadership education (CLE) programs. Interviews and focus groups from 29 participants identified expected outcomes, program characteristics, and social encouragement to be three primary motivators that interact to describe student engagement in CLE programs. This formed a basis for our initial conceptualization of curricular leadership education motivation of postsecondary students. Our findings serve as a foundation to explore postsecondary student motivation to enhance the practice and scholarship of leadership education. We offer a conceptual model illustrating our results as well as recommendations for practice and research.
Basak Denizci Guillet, Anna Pavesi, Cathy H.C. Hsu and Karin Weber
The purpose of this study is to examine and discuss whether women executives in the hospitality industry in Hong Kong adopt a feminine, masculine or gender-neutral approach to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine and discuss whether women executives in the hospitality industry in Hong Kong adopt a feminine, masculine or gender-neutral approach to leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on women with positional power in senior-level leadership roles within the hospitality and tourism industry in Hong Kong. A qualitative approach was taken to capture the multiple dimensions of these female executive’s leadership orientations. The participants included 24 women executives.
Findings
Participants’ representations show that women have a multitude of leadership styles that operate on three continua. Not all women executives display leadership orientations that adhere to their indigenous culture values. Individual differences or differences related to the organizational culture are still relevant.
Research limitations/implications
A low number of women in leadership positions in Hong Kong limited the selection process of participants. There might be a selection bias based on that the participants volunteered to participate in the research study and some declined. Findings are based on participants’ memory to reflect on their leadership styles.
Originality/value
Because of the traditional and conventional definitions of leadership, women leaders might feel that they should behave in a masculine way to be taken seriously as a leader. There is a need to understand whether women executives today manage to defeat these stereotypes and comfortably display a feminine approach to leadership. A culture that values and leverages feminine approaches in addition to masculine approaches is likely to have higher engagement and retention of women.
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Teresa Martha Söderhjelm, Gerry Larsson, Christer Sandahl, Christina Björklund and Kristina Palm
The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of leadership programmes on leaders and co-workers, as well as which mechanisms are involved in the process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of leadership programmes on leaders and co-workers, as well as which mechanisms are involved in the process.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis was done into 431 free-text answers to questionnaires given to 120 participants in two different leadership programmes and their co-workers six months after their participation, using a grounded theory inspired approach.
Findings
The result is a model, linking internal psychological and external behavioural aspects, with the central outcome that leaders gained more confidence in their leadership role through theoretical models learned, and reflection.
Research limitations/implications
The course participants as well as the co-workers seemed to experience a positive leadership development indicating a value of participating in the courses.
Practical implications
Confidence in leadership role seems important for having positive outcomes of leadership. Although this needs further research, it is something organisations should consider when working with leadership questions.
Social implications
The co-workers perceived their leaders to be calmer, more open for discussions, and willing both to give and receive feedback post training. There appears to be an increase in trust both in the leader and reciprocally from the leader in the co-workers.
Originality/value
Until now there has not been any systematic research into the effects on participants and co-workers following the programmes, despite the fact that over 100,000 have participated in the courses.
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Kenneth D. Mackenzie and F. Barry Barnes
The purpose of this article is to report on the underlying consensus in the major leadership approaches. This led to an assessment of the comprehensiveness of 11 leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to report on the underlying consensus in the major leadership approaches. This led to an assessment of the comprehensiveness of 11 leadership approaches and the role of place in achieving it.
Design/methodology/approach
Overall, 11 leadership approaches are analyzed and coded according to their emphasis and purpose and their organizational place (organizational content/context and the follower content/context).
Findings
A total of eight consensus items are found which range from “leadership is a good thing and more of its is better” to “leadership is a type of holonomic process”. In addition, ten of the 11 leadership approaches lack comprehensiveness, and that this lack is possibly the reason for their popularity.
Research limitations/implications
This paper does not include all possible leadership approaches. The analysis and coding of those selected leave room for different interpretations and possibly different conclusions.
Practical limitations
The inability of most leadership approaches to incorporate actual content of the work and the context of the group or organizations limits their usefulness to actually improve leadership. Theorists need to consider and incorporate place in their formulations.
Originality/value
This paper uses the philosophical concept of place to analyze leadership approaches. This paper also introduces the LAMPE approach to organizational leadership because it points the way to having more comprehensive leadership approach.
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