Leading from the inside out: a meta-analysis of how, when, and why self-leadership affects individual outcomes

Self-Leadership and Associated Factors in Nursing Students: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Nurse leaders face high pressure, but self-leadership can help them thrive. Nursing students, therefore, should develop this skill before graduation.

PURPOSE

To investigate nursing students' self-leadership perceptions and associated factors, and to reveal when and how self-leadership strategies are utilized.

METHODS

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design with interpretative description; 943 nursing students were surveyed and 13 were selected for qualitative analysis. Descriptive data were collected, and self-leadership was assessed using the Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire. Focus group interviews were analyzed through thematic and content analysis.

RESULTS

Students who were employed, were involved in student clubs or organizations, held managerial roles, and had career goals exhibited higher self-leadership perceptions. Qualitative findings revealed that staying in comfort zones, overthinking, and procrastination hinder self-leadership, while self-respect, self-awareness, and self-determination enhance it.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse educators should design interventions that enable students to take on planning roles, advance at their own pace, and engage in opportunities to develop their self-leadership skills.

How self-leadership promotes job crafting: Based on the perspective of self-determination theory

According to self-determination theory, the present study develops a moderated mediation model to investigate how and when self-leadership promotes employees' job crafting, emphasizing the mediating effect of autonomous motivation and the moderating effect of leader empowering behavior. We analyze and test the hypotheses based on 269 valid three-wave data from employees. The findings show that self-leadership has a significantly positive impact on job crafting, and a positive indirect effect on job crafting via autonomous motivation. Furthermore, leader empowering behavior not only enhances the positive impact of self-leadership on autonomous motivation, but also positively moderates the mediating effect of autonomous motivation in the relationship between self-leadership and job crafting. Practically, our study provides insights into how to promote job crafting. We also propose limitations and directions for future research.

Healthcare workers' autonomy: testing the reciprocal relationship between job autonomy and self-leadership and moderating role of need for job autonomy

PURPOSE

While both perceived job autonomy and self-leadership are assumed to be important for optimal functioning of healthcare workers, their mutual relationship remains unclear. This cross-lagged study aims to theorize and test that perceived job autonomy and self-leadership have a reciprocal relationship, which is moderated by need for job autonomy.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Two-wave panel data were used to measure cross-lagged relationships over a time period of three months. Self-leadership is indicated by both self-leadership strategies and self-leadership behavior. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression (HMR).

FINDINGS

Job autonomy was not causally nor reverse related to self-leadership strategies, but did relate to self-leadership behavior in both directions. Need for job autonomy did not influence the causal and reverse relationships between job autonomy and self-leadership (strategies and behavior). Instead, need for job autonomy discarded the influence of job autonomy on self-leadership behavior, and predicted self-leadership behavior over time.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

For optimizing healthcare jobs, human resource management (HRM) policy makers need to consider other interventions such as training self-leadership, or developing an autonomy supportive work environment, since job autonomy does not lead to more use of self-leadership strategies.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This study used a cross-lagged study design which gives the opportunity to investigate causal relationships between job autonomy and self-leadership. Both self-leadership strategies and self-leadership behavior are included.

Self-Leadership Practices of Nurse Educators at South African Nursing Education Institutions

Background:

Self-leadership has emerged as a leadership style that could be used to achieve successful performance for individuals and organisations, including higher education institutions. It is, however, not known how nurse educators perceive their self-leadership practices.

Objective:

To describe the self-leadership practices of nurse educators at nursing education institutions.

Methods:

This article reports the quantitative phase of a broader exploratory, descriptive, sequential mixed-method design study conducted with conveniently selected nurse educators (n=265) in two provinces in South Africa. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire.

Results:

Constructs found to be valid for self-leadership practices were autonomy-supportive environment, continuing professional development, role modelling, and shared leadership. Respondents perceived themselves to be engaged in self-leadership practices. The Cronbach alpha coefficient indicated the internal consistency of the constructs.

Conclusion:

Educational institutions should create environments that support autonomy and role modelling to facilitate the engagement of nurse educators in self-leadership practices.