The language of power and authority in leadership

Power of saying 'I Don't Know': psychological safety and participatory strategies for healthcare leaders

As healthcare systems grow increasingly complex and integrate with other services and sectors, creating complex patient pathways, this inevitably leads to additional layers within a system. Consequently, high-tier leaders become progressively detached from the inner workings of the systems in which they operate. Several barriers exist that may deter a leader from embracing uncertainty and acknowledging the limits of their expertise in these systems. These barriers range from personal insecurities about perception to organisational stigmas that compound these concerns through expectations of infallible leadership. In this article, I draw on my experience as an embedded researcher and someone who has taught leadership in healthcare settings to examine the importance of leadership vulnerability, considering not only for the leaders themselves but also for fostering a learning and innovative culture within the organisation. I focus on two fundamental tenets: psychological safety and participatory approaches to innovation. In addition, I offer practical considerations for embracing vulnerability and discuss the ensuing benefits. Given the rapidly evolving complexities in healthcare and paradigm-shifting innovations, such as the integration of digital solutions, this article serves as a call to action. It urges leaders to embrace uncertainty, encourage participation and venture into the unknown.

Ranking of Corporate Governance Dimensions: A Delphi Study

Most research on Initial Public Offering (IPO) focuses on the financial aspects of a company; previous research on corporate governance tended to focus on factors that influence the company proceeding with IPO. Few researchers studied the aspect of leadership using corporate governance as means to achieve company growth and IPO. This study seeks to identify dimensions deemed as important for corporate governance from the Malaysian perspective by using a two-round Delphi Method. The consistency of the ranking of these dimensions was then determined using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The order of importance for the nine dimensions uncovered from the Delphi Method are as follows: (1) Leadership; (2) Board Structure; (3) Vision, Mission and Strategies; (4) Policies, Process and Procedures; (5) Transparency; (6) Accountability and Responsibility; (7) Risk management and Internal Control; (8) Culture, and (9) Training and Communication. The interplay of the aforementioned dimensions and corporate governance is presented. Finally, quantitative as well as mixed methods research are recommended for a more in-depth understanding and to reduce bias through triangulation.

Leadership configuration in crises: Lessons from the English response to COVID-19

Our study examines the empirical case of the political leadership response to Covid-19 in England. It shows that, rather than the ideal configuration of leadership suggested by theory, within which individualistic and collective leadership blend, a less balanced configuration emerged that can be characterised as incoherent. In England, an individual political leader behaved in an authoritarian way, which ignored evidence about how to address Covid-19. So, rather than an individual orchestrating a collective leadership effort to address complex issues, leadership was rendered fragmented and chaotic. We suggest that the English context, characterised by populist tendencies and neoliberal economic policy, shaped the poor leadership response to Covid-19.

The decline of authority and the rise of managerialism

Managerialism, as an ideology and management practice, is grounded on a theory of authority. Such grounding has been neglected in the relevant literature since scholars have generally treated authority as a form of power and have ignored the view that authority is also a source of power. Following a review of the construct of authority as it appears in the works of noted social psychologists and critical management authors, this essay argues that Carl Friedrich’s theory of authority as reasoned elaboration reveals two manifestations: authoritativeness and authoritarianism. It is argued here that managerialism draws on authoritarian ideas and practices, whereas management, as traditionally conceived, draws on authoritativeness. To promote authoritative management, therefore, is to resist (authoritarian) managerialism since authority redirects power to technical experts and professional colleagues and thereby limits managerial power.

Conceptualisations of Leadership and Relevance to Health and Human Service Workforce Development: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

This scoping review was undertaken to determine leadership definitions and approaches relevant to health and human service (H&HS) workforce development. This review provides a preliminary analysis of the potential size and scope of available research literature to inform ongoing research with the ultimate aim to inform a future systematic review in relation to leadership development interventions.

METHODS

Following the methodology proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and using PRISMA-ScR, a systematic search was conducted using seven databases (PubMed, Health Business Elite, Medline, CINAHL, Ovid, Scopus, and Web of Science). Articles were screened and assessed for eligibility. From eligible studies, data were extracted to summarize, collate, and make a narrative account of the findings.

RESULTS

Employing pre-selected criteria, a total of 424 records were identified and 171 full-text articles were assessed. The majority of the papers were studies undertaken by researchers based in North America. Leadership in the H&HS sector was addressed in 35% of the articles. The narrow disciplinary or workforce fields of the nursing and medical professions in hospitals and acute care settings dominated the literature.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that while leadership has been studied extensively in the health system, there is a paucity of leadership development research specific to the broader H&HS sector. This review emphasises the need for further research, including a more critical examination of leadership development interventions and their application to the H&HS sector.

Nurse Perceived of Caring Leadership: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND: The leader’s attitude or behavior to staff or subordinates greatly determined a conducive working atmosphere in a hospital. Decrease in performance and job dissatisfaction will impact work productivity, attendance (absenteeism), the quality of services provided, and the exit of the workforce itself (turn-over). This is why the importance of a harmonious relationship between a leader and his staff or subordinates. AIM: This study aims to determine nurses’ views regarding caring leadership of the head of the room. METHODS: The research method used in this study is descriptive qualitative with a face-to-face interview. Fifteen registered nurses were involved in this study that interacts directly to the patient and nurse manager. The data were analyzed by content analysis. RESULTS: Nurse perceived caring leadership, including giving positive feelings, listening, encouraging, influencing, experience, proactive, and struggling for the subordinates. CONCLUSION: A deep understanding of caring leadership could bring the curricula with the new course of caring leadership. The student can learn and practice from the early time. It would bring a caring attitude as a part of their own life.