What Leadership Styles do Executives Practice in Healthcare Environments?

Abstract What Leadership Style Do Executives Practice in Healthcare Environment? M. H. Malak, W. Lorman, A. Rundio, M. G. Simion, & D. Simion Objectives The objective of this research was twofold. 1) To identify which leadership style is predominantly being practiced in magnet and non-magnet hospitals among C-level executives such as Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) and 2) To determine if the servant leadership style was more suitable in the healthcare environments than transformational leadership style? Participants There were ten (n = 10) voluntary participants recruited from various acute care hospitals in the Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Forty percent (n = 4) participants worked in a magnet hospital; whereas, sixty percent (n = 6) participants worked in a non-magnet setting. All of the participants were C-level executives i.e., Chief Nursing Officers (CNO) or Chief Nursing Executives (CNE). Method A qualitative study design was utilized for this research. A leadership research tool was developed for this study. The data collection procedure consisted of pre-interview questionnaires an interview with each participant. The interview was conducted using a combination of direct and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed using a thematic approach. Results Fifty percent (n = 5) participants believed that they practiced servant leadership style and the remaining fifty percent (n = 5) believed that they practiced transformational leadership style; however, post-interview, it was determined that forty percent (n = 4) practiced transformational, while thirty percent (n = 3) practiced servant leadership, twenty percent (n = 2) practiced situational leadership, and ten percent (n = 1) practiced visionary leadership style. Thirty percent (n = 3) participants believed that the servant; whereas, seventy percent (n = 7) believed that the transformational leadership style was "most beneficial" for magnet hospitals. On the other hand, sixty percent (n = 6) of participants believed that the servant and forty percent (n = 4) believed that the transformational leadership style was "most beneficial" for non-magnet hospitals. Furthermore, eighty percent (n = 8) participants believed that the servant leadership style was best for any healthcare organization. Conclusions In conclusion, this research finding demonstrated that transformational, servant, and situational leadership styles were predominantly being practiced among the participants. Also, the best-suited leadership styles for magnet hospital is transformational and servant for non-magnet hospitals.