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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of leadership development programmes, underpinned by Transformational Learning Theory (TLT).

A corpus-informed analysis was conducted using survey data from 690 participants. Data were collected from participants’ responses to the question “please tell us about the impact of your overall experience”, which culminated in a combined corpus of 75,053 words.

Findings identified patterns of language clustered around the following frequently used word types, namely, confidence; influence; self-awareness; insight; and impact.

This in-depth qualitative evaluation of participants’ feedback has provided insight into how TLT can be applied to develop future health-care leaders. The extent to which learning has had a transformational impact at the individual level, in relation to their perceived ability to influence, holds promise for the wider impact of this group in relation to policy, practice and the promotion of clinical excellence in the future. However, the latter can only be ascertained by undertaking further realist evaluation and longitudinal study to understand the mechanisms by which transformational learning occurs and is successfully translated to influence in practice.

Previous research has expounded traditional leadership theories to guide the practice of health-care leadership development. The paper goes some way to demonstrate the impact of using the principles of TLT within health-care leadership development programmes. The approach taken by The Florence Nightingale Foundation has the potential to generate confident leaders who may be instrumental in creating positive changes across various clinical environments.

The purpose of the current innovative practice paper is to introduce a technique to explore leader identity development and meaning-making that builds on the narrative pedagogical tradition. In this paper, we recommend a process for combining turning-point graphing and responsive (semi-structured) interviews to co-explore leadership identity development and meaning-making with college students.

The paper provides student feedback data on the effectiveness of the technique in improving understanding of leader identity and transforming meaning-making.

We hope practitioners can utilize this approach to build leadership identity development and meaning-making capacity in college students.

The various quality improvement (QI) frameworks and maturity models described in the health services literature consider some aspects of QI while excluding others. This paper aims to present a concerted attempt to create a quality improvement maturity model (QIMM) derived from holistic principles underlying the successful implementation of system-wide QI programmes.

A hybrid methodology involving a systematic review (Phase 1) of over 270 empirical research articles and books developed the basis for the proposed QIMM. It was followed by expert interviews to refine the core constructs and ground the proposed QIMM in contemporary QI practice (Phase 2). The experts included academics in two academic conferences and 59 QI managers from the New Zealand health-care system. In-depth interviews were conducted with QI managers to ascertain their views on the QIMM and its applicability in their respective health organisations (HOs).

The QIMM consists of four dimensions of organisational maturity, namely, strategic, process, supply chain and philosophical maturity. These dimensions progress through six stages, namely, identification, ad-hoc, formal, process-driven, optimised enterprise and finally a way of life. The application of the QIMM by the QI managers revealed that the scope of QI and the breadth of the principles adopted by the QI managers and their HOs in New Zealand is limited.

The importance of QI in health systems cannot be overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality.

This paper contributes new knowledge by presenting a maturity model with an integrated set of quality principles for HOs and their extended supply networks.

This paper aims to describe the design and evaluation of a pilot leadership development programme for infection prevention and control (IPAC) professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme’s aim was to improve IPAC knowledge and capacity in the health-care system by developing the leadership skills and capacities of novice and advanced Infection Control Professionals (ICPs), to respond flexibly, and competently, in their expanding and ever-changing roles.

The leadership programme was piloted with seven nurses, who were part of a clinical nursing team in New South Wales, Australia, over a 12-month period between 2021 and 2022. The programme was designed using a leadership development framework underpinned by transformational leadership theory, practice development approaches and collaborative and experiential learning. These principles were applied during programme design, with components adapted to learners’ interests and regular opportunities provided for collaboration in active learning and critical reflection on workplace experiences.

The authors’ evaluation suggests that the programme was feasible, acceptable and considered to be effective by this cohort. Moreover, participants valued the opportunities to engage in active and experience-based learning with peers, and with the support of senior and experienced ICPs. The action learning sets were well-received and allowed participants to critically reflect on and learn from one another’s experiences. The mentoring programme allowed them to apply their developing leadership skills to real workplace challenges that they face.

Despite a small sample size, the authors’ results provide empirical evidence about the effectiveness of using a practice development approach for strengthening ICP leadership capacity. The success of this pilot study has paved the way for a bigger second cohort of participants in the programme, for which further evaluation will be conducted.

The success of this leadership programme reflects both the need for leadership development in the IPAC professions and the applicability of this approach, with appropriate facilitation, for other professions and organizations.

ICP leadership programmes have not been previously reported in the literature. This pilot study builds on the growing interest in IPAC leadership to foster health system responsiveness and change.

The purpose is to use co-citation analysis of servant leadership (SL) research to investigate the evolution of the field, its subfields, gaps and opportunities for future research in a systematic manner.

A document co-citation technique and three clustering algorithms (latent semantic index (LSI), the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) and the mutual information (MI) index) were employed to analyse 24,030 references from 549 articles spanning a period of 50 years.

Cluster analyses reveal that SL research consists of eight distinct subfields: (1) conceptualisation and measurement of SL; (2) SL and related theories; (3) methodological foundations and empirical expansion of SL research; (4) individual-level cognitive effects of SL and related theories; (5) “Warmth effects” of leadership behaviour; (6) antecedents of effective leadership; (7) SL, marketing, sales management and ethics and (8) SL, job design and work engagement. Important gaps and opportunities for future research are identified.

The analyses do not show a complete picture of research on SL. Interesting works used by subgroups of SL researchers may not have enough citations to be included in the results. Moreover, bibliometric analyses do not explain the impact of books, journals and articles on the practice of SL. The authors welcome future analyses of the most influential sources of SL practice. The authors expect that managerial and practice-oriented books and journals, such as the International Journal of Servant Leadership and the Servant Leadership Theory and Practice, would play a central role in such analyses.

The discussions of the nature of SL, its effects and antecedents are useful to leaders who want to develop a SL style or assist others in developing it. For researchers and doctoral students, the cluster analyses of co-citations give an overview of the subfields of SL research and reveal important knowledge gaps in the literature.

SL has several favourable effects on the motivation and psychological well-being of followers. Also, followers tend to adopt a willingness to serve.

Previous research has categorised SL research into three broad categories or phases. The cluster analyses of the co-citations reported here reveal a meaningful structure of eight distinct subfields. Knowledge gaps within the subfields represent novel opportunities for future research on SL. The authors also suggest a new subfield of SL research: pedagogical approaches to the motivation and development of SL skills.

This study aims to examine the level of intention to pursue formal nursing leadership roles among millennial nurses and to identify the different factors that may play a role in their intentions to pursue such roles.

This study used a multi-center, cross-sectional research design. Registered nurses born between 1980 and 2000 (n = 1,377) who worked in 23 acute care hospitals in Oman were included in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Data were collected between July 2019 and January 2020.

Nearly 70% of millennial nurses researched their intention for career advancement to assume nursing leadership responsibility. Factors associated with nurses’ intention to pursue formal nursing leadership roles were the type of nursing degree held (having a bachelor of science in nursing degree), type of hospital facility affiliation (teaching hospital), previous leadership experience, structural empowerment (access to support, opportunity and resources), work satisfaction and job burnout.

Millennial nurses, who represent the largest segment of the nursing workforce, have begun assuming nursing management and leadership roles; however, little is known about the factors affecting their intentions to pursue these roles. The findings of this study revealed different factors (both modifiable and nonmodifiable) influencing millennial nurses’ intentions to pursue formal leadership roles.

This paper describes an exploratory, international research collaboration that seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the development and experiences of peer leaders in higher education across different international contexts, namely the USA, Canada (CAN), Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) (ANZ), the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA).

Data are summarized and compared across each of the participating countries, providing a more global context and depth of perspective on peer leadership (PL) in higher education than is currently available in the literature.

The findings highlight some apparent differences between countries in relation to student engagement in peer leader roles and the ways in which PL is supported by higher education institutions, as well as some similarities across the different international contexts, particularly in the way peer leaders view the benefits of their involvement in PL.

These insights provide a valuable addition to the literature on PL and practical information to higher education institutions for supporting student leadership development and involvement.

This study aims to answer the key questions about the role of digital identities in organisations and within the HR function, the role of regulation in the digital identity space as it catches up with innovators and the vast potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in supporting digital identity.

Developed by using insight from the organisation’s extensive experience in digital identities and knowledge of the regulatory environment, alongside experience with the HR industry and relevant customers.

The digitalisation of business processes and the reality of an increasingly geographically distributed workforce have made digital identities for employees an increasingly important element of modern organisational and human resources functions. The benefits of using digital identities for employees are clear. With the growth of remote working and borderless company operations, digital identities provide employers with enhanced security, improved efficiency and cost savings. As organisations embark on their digital transformation journeys, the delicate balance between facilitating employees’ access to technology and safeguarding the organisation against cyber threats becomes clear. This intricate compromise requires the precise orchestration of certain processes, governance and technology.

In the UK, it is especially important for HR directors to consider the role of AI-empowered employee digital identities. The UK is taking a lead in digitising employee processes, with 68% of respondents in a 2023 poll by SD Worx reporting their company is investing in digital HR and training offerings, compared to a 60% average across Europe.

This study aims to unravel a potential determinant of employee engagement in family firms. In particular, we focus on the role of the CEO by studying the influence of CEO transformational leadership on employee engagement. Moreover, we look into the potential mediating psychological safety might play in this relationship.

Based on an extensive literature review, we propose that there will be a significant positive relationship between family firm CEOs’ transformational leadership and the level of employee engagement. We argue that psychological safety will serve as an underlying mechanism explaining this positive relationship. We empirically tested our research model using quantitative data collected through a questionnaire, completed by 508 employees from Belgian family firms.

The results confirm the positive relationship between CEOs’ transformational leadership and employee engagement. Moreover, these results show that the degree of psychological safety mediates this relationship.

This study forms a significant contribution to family firm literature. Until now, even though existing studies on employee engagement in general are numerous, we had little to no knowledge of the factors influencing employee engagement taking into account the unique context of family firms. With this study, we take an important step in this matter. In addition, this study also contributes to the general literature on employee engagement, since previous studies on the impact of leadership on employee engagement tended to focus on the role of the immediate supervisors and not the CEO.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a significant impact on several aspects of public relations practice. By adopting the theoretical framework of adaptive leadership, this research is designed to explore how an organization’s top leadership can support related adaptive action in strategic communication. Particularly, we hope to explore whether the application of adaptive leadership could facilitate a higher level of communication transparency as well as deliver a sense of caring and empathy in COVID-19 communication.

An international online survey was designed and conducted for this study. The first sample consists of 776 full-time communication professionals in the United States of America with 435 women (56.1%) and 341 men (43.9%). The second sample consists of 268 full-time communication professionals in Canada, with 110 women (41.0%) and 158 men (59.0%). The two samples were merged into the final sample of 1,044 for the data analysis.

Results confirmed that the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic increased communication professionals’ challenges in building trust. It also drives adaptive changes in their coping actions in strategic communication. More importantly, the top leadership within the organization played a key role in this adaptive leadership environment by demonstrating commitment to transparency in COVID-19 communication and delivering a sense of empathy during the pandemic.

This study contributes to our understanding of strategic communication in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, by focusing on the adaptive nature of communication leadership. More importantly, our study confirms the important roles of two leadership attributes (i.e. the sense of empathy and the commitment to communication transparency) in supporting adaptive leadership, which eventually influences trust building.