Perceived Leadership Style, Style Flexibility, and Style Effectiveness of Government Hospital Administrators in Thailand

Problem. Many health care organizations have a great need for leaders who can handle the complex mix of health care facilities, legal and patient demands. Currently, hospital administrators of government-operated hospitals in Thailand are selected from physicians. These physicians are not directly trained to be professional hospital administrators. It was the purpose of this study to study and reveal their leadership styles. Method. A descriptive design was used to study the leadership styles, style flexibility, and style effectiveness of hospital administrators in self-reports and as perceived by supervisors. The LBA II-Self (Leader Behavior Analysis II: Self Perceptions of Leadership Style) and the LBA II-Others (Leader Behavior Analysis II: Others' Perceptions of Leadership Style) instruments and a demographic information questionnaire were used for data collection. For the purpose of this study, the supervisors' perception was used as others' perception to define the leadership style of hospital administrators. The term "supervisor" refers to the Provincial Chief Medical Officer (PCMO). Results. Major conclusions drawn as a result of information and experience gained during the course of the study were: (1) The hospital administrators of government-operated general hospitals in Thailand used supportive behavior more often than directive behavior. Both the hospital administrators and their supervisors perceived that the administrators were highly supportive leaders. (2) Both the hospital administrators and their supervisors perceived that the administrators possessed a moderate degree of flexibility in utilizing their leadership styles. The administrators saw themselves as more flexible in utilizing different leadership styles than their superiors did. (3) Both the hospital administrators and their supervisors perceived that the administrators possessed a moderate degree of effectiveness in the use of their leadership styles. (4) The factors of age, educational background, and years of working experience in current position were unrelated to the leadership styles, leadership style flexibility, and leadership style effectiveness as perceived by the hospital administratorsand by their supervisors. Conclusions. Based on this study, the "supporting" style (S3) was the predominant leadership style of the hospital administrators. The factors of age, educational background, and years of working experience in current position were unrelated to the leadership styles, leadership style flexibility, and leadership style effectiveness as perceived by the hospital administrators and by their supervisors. However, it was concluded that more leadership studies are needed because this result shows the inconsistencies to some previous studies (see Review of literature). The following recommendations are presented for consideration: (1) The subordinates' perception be used to study leaders' leadership styles; (2) Further study be done on the strength of each primary leadership styles; (3) Qualitative research be conducted to reveal the possible factors that might relate to the leadership styles, style flexibility, and style effectiveness of hospital administrators in Thailand; (4) The study be replicated to study leaders in other organizations in Thailand, to determine whether similar results are obtained; (5) Training programs in leadership styles be made available to help hospital administrators become sensitive to style flexibility and more aware of the appropriateness of the styles they use; (6) Further experimental research be conducted to determine whether hospital administrators with training in Situational Leadership II theory are significantly different in utilizing their leadership styles, style flexibility, and style effectiveness from those without such training.