Associations between Leadership Style and Employee Resistance in a Healthcare Setting

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22158/rhs.v5n2p28

Abstract

Purpose: Health reform is forcing healthcare administrators to make rapid changes. A tendency to resist change can present problems for the leaders of health care organizations, including the large, not-for profit Catholic healthcare systems. The transformational leadership style has been shown to be positively correlated with change however, the relationship among leadership styles, employees’ behaviors, and motivation to change are still not well understood and require further study. Further, although Oreg’s Resistance to Change (RTC) approach has been researched in direct patient care areas, RTC research in non-patient settings is lacking.

Methods: This study focused on the relationship of transformational leadership to RTC and if the relationships leaders’ have with subordinates’ influence change. A customized survey that included the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, RTC, and Leader Member Exchange (LMX 7) was emailed to 500 random individuals of various ages and races from three non-patient areas. Thirty leaders (included directors and managers) and 133 raters (those under the direction of a director or manager) responded.

Results: The regression analysis showed a strong correlation between transformational leadership and RTC. Additionally, each of the variables from the LMX 7 section of the survey showed associations indicating the relationship leaders develop with their subordinates and leader transformational scores were positive.

Conclusion: This study may contribute to the awareness of RTC and utilizing transformational leadership style to move change in a positive direction for a healthcare setting.

Author Biography

Tanisha Garcia, California State University Fresno

Dr. Tanisha Garcia is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health. She received her bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and a master’s degree in Management in Healthcare Administration from National American University, Rapid City, and a Ph.D. in Health Services/Healthcare Administration from Walden University, Minneapolis.

In my current role as a full time faculty member at Fresno State, I strive to educate our students about diversity, health, multiculturalism, and inclusion, and how it plays an essential role within each of us and our society. Although these are very important, I feel the Health Policy and Leadership provide me with an opportunity to learn more about the San Joaquin Valley region and better prepare me to be a contributor to the research. I have had several educational and life fulfilling opportunities in the field of leadership but never in this type of environment. Due to the nature of this program; I believe it will provide me with an opportunity to continue to be a catalyst not only within higher education, but within the community as well. In addition, this program will help me further my understanding of the Central Valley and the respective institutions that support some of the challenges

She has more than 15 years of professional experience in various positions within health care from outpatient facilities to corporate governance. She began her teaching career path in allied healthcare programs and later developed a passion for leadership styles and theories. Recent ventures include serving in a position for Information Management in Healthcare and a position as Program Director of Process Improvement both striking an interest in Change Management.

Garcia's research interests include women's health, leadership styles and theories, change management, organizational transformation, and healthcare information management.

 

Published

2020-05-01

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Articles

Copyright (c) 2020 Tanisha D. Garcia

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.