Evaluation of Transformational Leadership Characteristics of Healthcare Managers

Purpose – The primary purpose of this research is to evaluate the transformational leadership characteristics of healthcare managers. For this purpose, an application was made to a public hospital in Ankara. Design/methodology/approach – In the research, a questionnaire consisting of the leadership scale was used. The research was conducted on 434 participants. The population of this research consists of physicians, nurses, midwives, and other health workers working in the public hospital where the research was conducted. Participants were asked to evaluate the transformational leadership characteristics of the managers they report to. Results – At the end of the research, it was found that the leadership scale used in the study had high reliability (α = 0.989) and a strong factor structure (KMO = 0.979, total variance explained = 83.4%). Moreover, it was determined that there was no significant difference in the perceptions of transformational leadership between female and male employees and between managers and non-managers. However, it was determined that the differences in the education level, age, and length of service in the ınstitution of healthcare workers did not affect their perceptions of transformational leadership. In addition, the participants stated that their managers had a medium level of transformational leadership. Discussion – In the research, health workers stated that their immediate managers exhibited moderate leadership characteristics (mean score=3,64). According to this result, managers need to improve their transformational leadership characteristics. This situation can be corrected with training. The management of health institutions is quite tricky due to their complex organizational structure. In addition, health institutions operate in a rapidly changing and transforming environment. Therefore, for health institutions to succeed, they must be managed by transformational leaders. In addition, health managers with leadership skills should improve themselves through training.