Authentic leadership in healthcare: a scoping review

A New Adaptation of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire in Turkish: Evidence From Nursing

There is a wide range of leadership approaches, and it is important to measure the types and impact of leadership in nursing. This study aimed to adapt the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire and test its suitability in the Turkish nursing context. Employing a two-phase cross-cultural research design in accordance with STROBE guidelines, language adaptation was conducted following ISPOR guidelines. Subsequently, data were collected from a sample of 382 nurses across three hospitals in İzmir, Turkey. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four sub-scale structures and indices revealed an adequate fit. The content validity index score was 0.97 for the questionnaire and greater than 0.80 for its items, demonstrating excellent validity. The intraclass correlation coefficient obtained was 0.80, indicating a good level of reliability. The findings confirm the questionnaire has the potential to determine the extent and impact of authentic leadership being practiced in hospital settings. It could be used in a range of hospital settings to ensure that accurate evidence concerning authentic leadership is gathered and used to inform the further development of nursing leadership more widely.

Authentic Leadership-A Concept Analysis

AIM

To report an analysis of the concept of authentic leadership.

DESIGN

Concept analysis.

DATA SOURCES

Data sources included core databases: CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, APA PsycINFO, ERIC, ABI/Inform and Tomlinson's Nursing Core Collection (2010).

METHODS

Walker and Avant's method was used to identify descriptions, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents of the concept. Model, related and contrary cases were developed.

RESULTS

Defining attributes were identified as self-awareness, transparency, balanced processing, internalised moral perspective, caring, shared decision making and moral/ethical courage. Antecedents were authenticity, positive psychological capacities, life experiences, leadership development programme, supportive organisational climate and an ethical climate. Consequences are employee well-being and satisfaction, positive work environment and enhanced performance and safety.

CONCLUSION

While authentic leadership is an emerging and popular leadership approach, there are gaps in relation to agreed definitions. Moreover, core textbooks within the subject area also fail to provide these definitions. This concept analysis represents the first comprehensive and robust analysis of the concept of authentic leadership that will serve to reliably inform research, education and practice.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

This analysis reveals that authentic leadership can have a positive effect on staff well-being and satisfaction, their work environment, performance and ultimately safety. This has potential for a positive impact on patient care and patient outcomes by fostering an ethical and supportive work environment.

IMPACT

This study revealed a new comprehensive understanding of authentic leadership that provides conceptual clarity that will guide research and practice in the field, which refines the existing understanding, highlighting essential attributes and their relevance in nursing practice.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Impact of Nursing Leadership Styles on the Staff Turnover Intention in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objectives The efficiency of healthcare systems and nursing care depends on appropriate leadership. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between leadership styles of nurse managers and the staff turnover intention in Saudi Arabia. The nurses' intention to quit their jobs was considered as indicative of staff turnover intention. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 279 nurses, employed in three hospitals in Hafar Al-Batin City, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire comprised three parts to determine the association between leadership styles of nurse managers and staff turnover intention, and how they related to participants' demographic variables (gender/age/education/income/marital status/experience). The first part collected demographic data, and the second part was an adapted and validated version of the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ-6S) used to assess the perceived leadership styles of nurse managers, based on 21 items. The third part, comprising seven items, was used to assess nurses' turnover based on intention to quit. The second and third parts of the questionnaire were scored using a five-point Likert scale. Collected data were tabulated and analyzed using a statistical software package for descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation), comparing dependent outcome variables against independent demographic variables. Statistical significance was assumed when p-value was less than 0.05. Results Based on leadership style scores, transactional (13.32 out of a maximum of 24; 55.48%) and transformational (26.58 out of a maximum of 48; 55.37%) leadership were the most frequently perceived leadership styles among nurse managers. Laissez-faire leadership (6.31 out of a maximum of 12; 52.57%) was the least frequently perceived style. Upon comparing perceived leadership styles of nurse managers against demographic variables, no significant differences were observed for transformational leadership. However, income and experience of nurses showed significant relationship with the perceived transactional and laissez-faire leadership style scores, respectively. Based on perceived "intention to quit" scores, majority of the nurses expressed uncertain intention to quit (n = 193; 69.2%) and there was a significant yet weak negative correlation between the perceived leadership styles and intention to quit. The correlation coefficient (Pearson's-r) was lowest for laissez-faire leadership (-0.258) followed by transactional (-0.295) and transformational styles of leadership (-0.348). Conclusions The present study indicated a greater degree of transactional and transformational leadership styles among nurse managers than laissez-faire leadership style. While most of the nurses mentioned an uncertain intention to quit, correlating it with the perceived leadership styles it was found that transformational leadership among nurse managers indicated greater retention of nurses within their present jobs. The present research findings underline the importance of prioritizing and fostering healthy workplace environment by the nurse managers, through inculcation of transformational leadership practices. Furthermore, focused, multi-centric studies from around the world can help understand the leadership practices of nursing leaders and its relationship with the intention of nurses to quit their respective roles.

Advancing our understanding of humble leadership in healthcare: a scoping review

PURPOSE

This study aims to advance the understanding of humble leadership (HL) in health care.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

This study presents a scoping review to explore and synthesize the existing knowledge in the literature. The search process encompassed three main online databases, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Due to the novelty of the topic of HL in health care and the lack of research in this area, all articles published until the end of February 2023 were considered in this study.

FINDINGS

A total of 18 studies were included. The results showed that in the period of 2019-2023 more attention was paid to HL in health care than in previous years. The research design used in these articles included quantitative (n = 13) and qualitative (n = 5) methods and the statistical population included nurses, hospital employees and health-care department managers. Based on the results obtained, the definition of HL can be divided into two general approaches, including self-evaluation and the way one treats others. In addition, humble leaders in the health-care sector should exhibit certain behavioral characteristics and finally, the results indicated that HL has several positive consequences; however, little attention has been paid to the factors influencing HL in health care.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This research will help practitioners gain a deeper understanding of the various applications of HL in health care.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no comprehensive research review has yet been conducted on the application of HL in health care.

How does authentic leadership influence the safety climate in nursing?

BACKGROUND

Authentic leadership controls quality care and the safety of patients and healthcare professionals, especially nurses.

AIM

This study examined the influence of nurses' authentic leadership on the safety climate.

METHODS

In this predictive research, 314 Jordanian nurses from various hospitals were convenience sampled for cross-sectional and correlational design. This research included all hospital nurses with 1 year of experience, at least at the present hospital. SPSS (V.25) conducted descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses. As needed, sample variables' means, SD and frequencies were supplied.

RESULTS

The mean scores on the entire Authentic Leadership Questionnaire and its subscales were moderate. The mean score of the SCS was below 4 (out of 5), indicating negative safety climate perceptions. A significant positive moderate association was found between nurses' authentic leadership and safety climate. Nurses' authentic leadership predicted a safe climate. Internalised moral and balanced processing subscales were significant predictors of safety climate. Being woman and having a diploma inversely predicted the nurses' authentic leadership; however, the model was insignificant.

CONCLUSION

Interventions are needed to enhance the perception of the safety climate in hospitals. Nurses' authentic leadership increases their perceptions of a positive safety climate, and thus different strategies to build on nurses' authentic leadership characteristics are warranted.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

The negative perceptions of the safety climate mandate that organisations create strategies to increase nurses' awareness about the safety climate. Shared leadership, learning environments and information sharing would improve nurses' perceptions of the safety climate. Future studies should examine other variables influencing safety climate with a more extensive and randomised sample. Safety climate and authentic leadership should be integrated into the nursing curricula and continuing education courses.

Perceptions of Authentic Nurse Leader Attributes Among Clinical Nurses and Nurse Leaders

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop and validate a tool to measure authentic nurse leadership (ANL) from the perspective of nurse leaders.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need for ANL to establish healthy work environments (HWE) that promote positive outcomes.

METHODS

A nonexperimental design and exploratory psychometric analysis developed and validated the Authentic Nurse Leadership Questionnaire for Nurse Leaders (ANLQ-NL) instrument. Relationships were explored between ANLQ-NL and HWE, as measured by the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS). The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS) was used to measure the nurse leaders' tendency to produce socially desirable responses. The sample consisted of 188 nurse leaders from several US hospitals.

RESULTS

The ANLQ-NL instrument was found to be valid and highly reliable. Each of the constructs aligned with the ANL conceptual framework.

CONCLUSION

The ANL conceptual framework and instruments (ANLQ and ANLQ-NL) can be used for educational programs aimed at developing ANL attributes among nurses.

Authentic leadership at the Cleveland Clinic: psychological safety in the midst of crisis

Objectives

The goal of this research was to examine the leadership experiences of senior leaders at the Cleveland Clinic during the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A secondary goal was to examine lessons that could inform other healthcare organisations as they move into subsequent crisis situations.

Design

The authors examined publicly available podcast transcripts where interviewees shared their leadership experiences on the Cleveland Clinic Beyond Leadership Podcast.

Setting/participants

Twenty-one publicly available qualitative transcripts were examined inductively and deductively to assess how authentic leadership principles were applied to the experiences noted.

Principal findings

Deductively, the four leadership behaviours of authentic leadership (ie, relational transparency, internalised moral perspectives, balanced processing of information and self-awareness) were noted in the transcripts. Inductively, the participants also identified the importance of developing an organisational culture rooted in psychological safety which allowed individuals from all levels of the organisation to voice their ideas, concerns and thoughts. As part of a psychologically safe culture, it was also important to understand the influence of hierarchy in healthcare, ways to encourage employee voice and the uniqueness of leadership during crisis.

Practical applications

We first offer insights about the importance of psychological safety, particularly during a crisis. Second, we offer a number of ways that other healthcare organisations might strive to build on their own approach to authentic leadership and develop an organisational culture built on psychological safety.

Relationship Between Authentic Leadership, Transformational Leadership and Innovative Work Behaviour: Mediating Role of Innovation Climate

Purpose. This study aimed to demonstrate the effect of transformational and authentic leaderships characteristics of healthcare managers on employees' innovative work behavior and the mediating role of innovation climate. Methods. The study was conducted in 19 hospitals in Turkey and 263 managers participated in the study. The data were collected using the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Innovative Climate Assessment Tool, and Innovative Work Behavior Scale. Path analysis was performed to demonstrate the relationship between the variables. Results. When transformational and authentic leadership were put into the model separately through the innovation climate, transformational leadership had an effect of 0.39 units (0.22 units direct, 0.17 units indirect) and a uthentic leadership had a 0.44 unit (0.29 unit direct, 0.15 unit indirect) effect on innovative work behavior. When transformational and authentic leadership were put together in the model, the total (direct and indirect) effect of them increased to 0.52 units. In this case, the effect of authentic leadership characteristics of health managers on innovative work behavior of their followers (0.42 units) was greater than the effect of transformational leadership characteristics (0.10 units). Conclusions. Although both types of leadership affect innovative work behavior, authentic leadership was more effective than transformational leadership.

Relevant HRH leadership during public health emergencies

BACKGROUND

Inadequate leadership capacity compounds the world's workforce lack of preparedness for outbreaks of all sizes, as illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional human resources for health (HRH) leadership has focused on determining the health workforce requirements, often failing to fully consider the unpredictability associated with issues such as public health emergencies (PHE).

MAIN ARGUMENTS

The current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that policy-making and relevant leadership have to be effective under conditions of ethical uncertainty and with inconclusive evidence. The forces at work in health labor markets (HLM) entail leadership that bridges across sectors and all levels of the health systems. Developing and applying leadership competencies must then be understood from a systemic as well as an individual perspective. To address the challenges described and to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030, countries need to develop effective HRH leaderships relevant to the complexity of HLM in the most diverse contexts, including acute surge events during PHE. In complex and rapidly changing contexts, such as PHE, leadership needs to be attentive, nimble, adaptive, action oriented, transformative, accountable and provided throughout the system, i.e., authentic, distributed and participatory. This type of leadership is particularly important, as it can contribute to complex organizational changes as required in surge events associated with PHE, even in in the absence of formal management plans, roles, and structures. To deal with the uncertainty it needs agile tools that may allow prompt human resources impact assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

The complexity of PHE requires transformative, authentic, distributed and participatory leadership of HRH. The unpredictable aspects of the dynamics of the HLM during PHE require the need to rethink, adapt and operationalize appropriate tools, such as HRH impact assessment tools, to redirect workforce operations rapidly and with precision.

Studying the relationships between authentic leadership, structural empowerment, and civility in the palliative care sector in Portugal

PURPOSE

This paper aims to propose a model studying the relationship of authentic leadership (AL), structural empowerment (SE) and civility in the palliative care sector. This model proposes SE as a mediator between AL and civility.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Data was collected from 213 employees working in five major public palliative care hospitals in central Portugal. The study sample was predominantly female (80.3%) and the response rate was 42.6%. Variables were measured using the Authentic Leadership Inventory, Workplace Civility Scale and Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II scales. Hayes' PROCESS macro for mediation analysis in SPSS was used to test the hypothesized model.

FINDINGS

Results suggest that AL has a significant positive direct relationship with both SE and civility. Furthermore, SE demonstrated to play a partial mediation effect between AL and civility.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study may be of use for healthcare administration encouraging the development of AL, suggesting that the more leaders are seen as authentic, the more employees will perceive they have access to workplace empowerment structures and a civil environment.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

Considering the mainstream literature in healthcare management, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to date to integrate the relation of AL, SE and civility in the palliative care sector. Further, the research model has not previously been introduced when considering the mediating role structural empowerment can play between AL and civility.

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.

Towards remote leadership in health care: Lessons learned from an integrative review

AIM

To gather and synthesize current empirical evidence on remote leadership and to provide knowledge that can be used to develop successful remote leadership in health care.

DESIGN

A integrative literature review with an integrated mixed methods design.

DATA SOURCES

The literature search was carried out between February and March 2019 in the CINAHL, Medline (Ovid), PsycInfo, Scopus, SocIndex, Web of Science and Business Source Elite (EBSCO) databases.

REVIEW METHODS

An integrative review was conducted to identify relevant studies published from 2010 to 2019. Of the 88 eligible studies, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria and were selected for the final review. The included studies were analysed using mixed methods synthesis, more specifically, data-based convergent synthesis.

RESULTS

The performed analysis identified three main themes: characteristics of successful remote leadership; enhancing the leader-member relationship; and challenges in remote leadership. The first theme included the following sub-themes: remote leader characteristics; trust; communication; and leading the team culture. The second theme covered the importance of organizing regular face-to-face meetings, clear communication policies and the connection between positive team spirit and good remote leader-member relationship, while the third theme emphasized leader- and member-related challenges for remote work.

CONCLUSIONS

As none of the identified studies had been conducted in a health care setting, future remote leadership research must also specifically consider the health care context. This will be pivotal to exploring how remote work can foster a safe workplace culture, empower health care workers, increase job satisfaction and improve patient outcomes.

IMPACT

Remote leadership has rarely been studied in the health care context. Trust, communication, team spirit and a leader's characteristics are central to remote leadership, a finding which is useful for re-evaluating and improving the current culture at health care organizations.

Wonder-inspired leadership: Cultivating ethical and phenomenon-led healthcare

Three forms of leadership are frequently identified as prerequisites to the re-humanization of the healthcare system: 'authentic leadership', 'mindful leadership' and 'ethical leadership'. In different ways and to varying extents, these approaches all focus on person- or human-centred caring. In a phenomenological action research project at a Danish hospital, the nurses experienced and then described how developing a conscious sense of wonder enhanced their ability to hear, to get in resonance with the existential in their meetings with patients and relatives, and to respond ethically. This ability was fostered through so-called Wonder Labs in which the notion of 'phenomenon-led care' evolved, which called for 'slow thinking' and 'slow wondrous listening'. For the 10 nurses involved, it proved challenging to find the necessary serenity and space for this slow and wonder-based practice. This article critiques and examines, from a theoretical perspective, the kind of leadership that is needed to encourage this wonder-based approach to nursing, and it suggests a new type of leadership that is itself inspired by wonder and is guided by 10 tangible elements.

Linking authentic leadership and management capability to public hospital performance: the role of work engagement

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a model of the effect of both authentic leadership and management capability on hospital performance. This model proposes work engagement as an intervening mechanism between the aforesaid links.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 380 medical staff working in Jordanian Public hospitals and were analysed using the structural equation modelling analysis technique.

Findings

The results suggest that both authentic leadership and management capability have a positive effect on hospital performance. Although positive, the direct effect of management capability on performance was not significant. Furthermore, work engagement demonstrated to play a full mediation effect between management capability and hospital performance and a partial mediation effect between authentic leadership and hospital performance.

Practical implications

This study may be of use for public medical services providers in general and other services sectors in terms of the role authentic leadership and management resources can play in contributing to positive work-related outcomes at the individual and organisational levels.

Originality/value

Considering the mainstream literature in health-care management, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to date to integrate the impact of both authentic leadership and management capabilities in the public health-care sector. Further, the research model has not previously been introduced when taking into account the role that work engagement can play between the examined variables.

Leadership Styles and Nurses' Job Satisfaction. Results of a Systematic Review

Healthcare organisations are social systems in which human resources are the most important factor. Leadership plays a key role, affecting outcomes for professionals, patients and work environment. The aim of this research was to identify and analyse the knowledge present to date concerning the correlation between leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. A systematic review was carried out on PubMed, CINAHL and Embase using the following inclusion criteria: impact of different leadership styles on nurses’ job satisfaction; secondary care; nursing setting; full-text available; English or Italian language. From 11,813 initial titles, 12 studies were selected. Of these, 88% showed a significant correlation between leadership style and nurses’ job satisfaction. Transformational style had the highest number of positive correlations followed by authentic, resonant and servant styles. Passive-avoidant and laissez-faire styles, instead, showed a negative correlation with job satisfaction in all cases. Only the transactional style showed both positive and negative correlation. In this challenging environment, leaders need to promote technical and professional competencies, but also act to improve staff satisfaction and morale. It is necessary to identify and fill the gaps in leadership knowledge as a future objective to positively affect health professionals’ job satisfaction and therefore healthcare quality indicators.

The Relationship Between Authentic Leadership, Psychological Empowerment, Role Clarity, and Work Engagement: Evidence From South Africa

Employees in the mining sector are faced with a demanding work environment due to external challenges impacting on the organization. Optimizing their engagement is vital in weathering a demanding environment. The aim of this study was to (a) position authentic leadership (AL) and psychological empowerment (PE) as enablers of work engagement (WE); (b) to investigate the processes (i.e., PE) through which AL exerts its effect on WE, and (c) to determine whether contextual factors [i.e., role clarity (RC)] influenced this process. A cross-sectional research design was employed to collect data from 236 employees employed by a coal-mining organization within South Africa. The AL inventory, PE questionnaire, measures of role conflict and ambiguity questionnaire, and UWES-9 was administered to collect data. A moderated-mediation investigation was employed to test the hypotheses. Results supported the value of AL to enhance WE, both directly and indirectly via PE. Results also concluded that AL exerts its influence on WE through PE, regardless of employees’ levels of RC. AL literature is limited, not only in the South African context but also in the mining sector. The study not only extends AL literature by investigating its outcomes in a South African mining organization, but it also does so by investigating the boundary conditions under which AL exerts its influence. The boundaries (i.e., moderation) within which leadership-subordinate relationships (i.e. mediation) function are often neglected in favor of simplified investigations of mediation processes only.

Dimensions of authentic leadership and patient care quality

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causal relationships between the dimensions of authentic leadership and patient care quality in the nursing profession of Ghana.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The study used explanatory and cross-sectional survey designs. The data were obtained from 400 respondents, consisting of 200 nurses and 200 patients in selected general hospitals. The analysis was done using descriptive statistics, correlation and multi-linear regression techniques.

FINDINGS

The study found that all four dimensions of authentic leadership, namely, self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency positively correlated with patient care quality, however, only internalized moral perspective and self-awareness have positive significant association with patient care quality and internalized moral perspective being the highest predictor. Thus, the results suggest that authentic leadership can positively predict patient care quality.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

The study contributes to the understanding of how dimensions of authentic leadership practices affect patient care quality. This understanding is relevant to academics in general and Ghanaian policymakers in particular.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The research makes a significant contribution to the existing authentic leadership literature by establishing that the dimensions of authentic leadership predict patient care quality with an internalized moral perspective being the highest predictor followed by self-awareness. Furthermore, the authors anticipate that the outcomes of this research, which so far is the first study in the Ghanaian context, can significantly shape nursing leadership discourse, practices and policies in Ghana and in other developing countries to improve patient care quality.

Developing nurse leaders: Toward a theory of authentic leadership empowerment

AIM

The aim of this article is to present a theoretical synthesis of the theory of authentic leadership and the theory of structural empowerment. The new middle-range theory, Theory of Authentic Leadership Empowerment (TALE), is meant to be used as a guide for the professional development of nurses into leadership roles.

BACKGROUND

The Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing Report calls for nurses across all levels and settings, to develop leadership skills to address the ever-growing complexities in health care. However, the best approach to developing nurse leaders is not known.

DESIGN

Walker and Avant's method for theory synthesis was used. The two theories were critically appraised from a philosophical and theoretical perspective. Then the theories were synthesized by nesting structural empowerment concepts into authentic leadership to arrive at the proposed TALE.

RESULTS

TALE highlights how a nurse's individual history, personal values, ethics, and the organization's structure interact and influence the development of leaders who are authentic.

CONCLUSIONS

TALE offers nurse leaders, nursing professional development practitioners, and other stakeholders concerned with developing authentic leaders a holistic theoretical framework to understand leadership development at the individual level while also accounting for the importance of contextual influences.

Positive aspects of authentic leadership in nursing work: integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify and analyze the existing scientific production on the positive aspects of authentic leadership in the nurse’s work process. Method: This is an integrative literature review. The databases used were Scientific Electronic Library Online; Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences; and National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Results: In this study, 17 articles were selected for analysis; 1 study (6%) was published in a national journal, and 16 (94%) were international studies. Of the 17 (100%) articles studied, 11 (65%) were developed in Canada. The hospital environment was present in the 17 (100%) articles. Final considerations: Authentic leadership has several positive aspects that significantly influence the nurse’s work process, such as engagement and job satisfaction, retention of new nurses, organizational commitment, among others.

Authentic leadership in healthcare organizations: A study of 14 chief executive officers and 70 direct reports

There is limited research on authentic leadership in senior leaders of healthcare organizations. The purpose of this study was to investigate authentic leadership from the perspectives of 14 healthcare Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and 70 senior-level direct reports using the validated Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) and one-on-one interviews. CEOs also completed a 20-hour leadership curriculum focusing on authentic leadership. Although CEOs rated themselves higher than their direct reports on the total ALQ, it only approached significance (P = .060). Ratings on the four component parts of the ALQ were also higher, but only one was significant (P = .025) with a trend toward significance on another (P = .61). The CEOs' scores were slightly higher after their self-directed study but only one component was significant (P = .040). Interviews with the CEOs and direct reports underscore how healthcare leadership and authentic leadership specifically is viewed depending on organizational roles.

Pathway to professionalizing health leadership in Canada: The two faces of Janus

This article looks at the current state of health leadership in terms of expectations for professionalism: controlled entry, exit, and licensure/certification; a social contract to provide public services for the good of Canadians; and a unique body of knowledge and practice generally accepted. Looking to the future, and using the same three criteria, a compelling case for pursuing the professionalization of health leadership is made using LEADS as a roadmap. The article also outlines how to realize the professionalization of health leadership in Canada and why it is important to do so.