Abstract
The importance of good leadership is becoming increasingly apparent within health care. This paper reviews evidence which shows that it has effects, not only on financial management, but on the quality of care provided. Some theories of leadership are discussed, primarily in terms of how different types of leaders might affect quality in different ways, including the effects that they might have on the stress or wellbeing of their staff which, in turn, is related to the quality of care produced. Finally, the conflicts shown in terms of leadership within the context of health care are discussed, leading to the conclusion that development programmes must be specially tailored to address the complexities of this arena.
Key Words: leadership; quality of care; stress; personality
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (116.3 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Brittain B., Langill G. Structuring the design and implementation of leadership and teamwork for program management. Healthc Manage Forum. 1997 Summer;10(2):50–52. doi: 10.1016/S0840-4704(10)60885-X. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chidester T. R., Helmreich R. L., Gregorich S. E., Geis C. E. Pilot personality and crew coordination: implications for training and selection. Int J Aviat Psychol. 1991;1(1):25–44. doi: 10.1207/s15327108ijap0101_3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Corrigan P. W., Lickey S. E., Campion J., Rashid F. Mental health team leadership and consumers satisfaction and quality of life. Psychiatr Serv. 2000 Jun;51(6):781–785. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.51.6.781. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Firth-Cozens J., Greenhalgh J. Doctors' perceptions of the links between stress and lowered clinical care. Soc Sci Med. 1997 Apr;44(7):1017–1022. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00227-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Firth-Cozens J. Interventions to improve physicians' well-being and patient care. Soc Sci Med. 2001 Jan;52(2):215–222. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00221-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hogan R., Curphy G. J., Hogan J. What we know about leadership. Effectiveness and personality. Am Psychol. 1994 Jun;49(6):493–504. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.49.6.493. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Phillips J. M., Douthitt E. A., Hyland M. M. The role of justice in team member satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team. J Appl Psychol. 2001 Apr;86(2):316–325. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.86.2.316. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Townsend J., Phillips J. S., Elkins T. J. Employee retaliation: the neglected consequence of poor leader-member exchange relations. J Occup Health Psychol. 2000 Oct;5(4):457–463. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wall T. D., Bolden R. I., Borrill C. S., Carter A. J., Golya D. A., Hardy G. E., Haynes C. E., Rick J. E., Shapiro D. A., West M. A. Minor psychiatric disorder in NHS trust staff: occupational and gender differences. Br J Psychiatry. 1997 Dec;171:519–523. doi: 10.1192/bjp.171.6.519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]