Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

09-Oct-2018

Arch Hellen Med, 35(5), September-October 2018, 642-648

ORIGINAL PAPER

The leadership profile of nurse managers in Greek NHS hospitals

E. Neratzi,¹ D. Tziallas,^1,2 X. Bellou,¹ C. Kastanioti,^1,3 F. Anagnostopoulos¹
¹School of Social Sciences, MSc Course, Health Care Management, Hellenic Open University, Patra,
²University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina,
³Department of Business Administration and Organizations, Faculty of Health Care Management, Technological Educational Institute of the Peloponnese, Kalamata, Greece

OBJECTIVE To assess the leadership profile of nurse managers in Greek public hospitals.

METHOD The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x) was completed by 250 nurse managers at 12 public hospitals in Greece between January and April 2016. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), v. 20.

RESULTS Strong correlation was found between the educational experience of the nurse managers and the style of leadership they practised. Nurses who had undergone postgraduate specialization in administration chose transformational leadership, while those with no formal training preferred the passive-avoidant style. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaires revealed a tendency among the leading hospital executives to follow the transformational style, but with insignificant difference from the transactional leadership model.

CONCLUSIONS Leadership profile is a feature that can be learned and developed for application of more effective administration and human resources management. This study revealed a variety of different responses in most of the leadership dimensions, and it was not clear which is the predominant leadership style among the nurse managers.

Key words: Hospital performance, Leadership profile, Nursing management.