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An antidote to what’s ailing healthcare workers: a new (old) way of relational leadership

Brian Park, Anaïs Tuepker, Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman, Samuel Edwards, Elaine Waller Uchison, Cynthia Taylor, M. Patrice Eiff

Leadership in Health Services

ISSN: 1751-1879

Article publication date: 28 March 2023

Issue publication date: 22 November 2023

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study’s mixed-methods evaluation was to examine the ways in which a relational leadership development intervention enhanced participants’ abilities to apply relationship-oriented skills on their teams.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors evaluated five program cohorts from 2018–2021, involving 127 interprofessional participants. The study’s convergent mixed-method approach analyzed post-course surveys for descriptive statistics and interpreted six-month post-course interviews using qualitative conventional content analysis.

Findings

All intervention features were rated as at least moderately impactful by at least 83% of participants. The sense of community, as well as psychological safety and trust created, were rated as impactful features of the course by at least 94% of participants. At six months post-intervention, participants identified benefits of greater self-awareness, deeper understanding of others and increased confidence in supporting others, building relationships and making positive changes on their teams.

Originality/value

Relational leadership interventions may support participant skills for building connections, supporting others and optimizing teamwork. The high rate of skill application at six months post-course suggests that relational leadership development can be effective and sustainable in healthcare. As the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic crises continue to impact the psychological well-being of healthcare colleagues, relational leadership holds promise to address employee burnout, turnover and isolation on interprofessional care teams.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Contributors: The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Leah Gordon, MPH, who coded participant interviews. The authors also wish to thank Andrew Morris-Singer, MD; Kelsey C. Priest, PhD, MPH; Marcel M. Tam, MD, MBA; and Jane J. Cooper-Driver, MSc, for their contributions to pilot work that led to this manuscript.

Funding/support: This work was supported by the Morris-Singer Foundation. Dr Edwards was also supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Grant CDA 16–152.

Other disclosures: None.

Previous presentations: None.

Ethical approval: The OHSU institutional review board approved this project as an exempt protocol (Study #19017).

Author contributions: Brian Park: conceptualization, methodology, writing – original draft. Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman: formal analysis, writing – review and editing. Anaïs Tuepker: formal analysis, writing – review and editing. Samuel T. Edwards: formal analysis, writing – review and editing. Elaine Waller Uchison: investigation, data curation. Cynthia Taylor: formal analysis, writing – review and editing, M. Patrice Eiff: conceptualization, methodology, writing – review and editing.

Citation

Park, B., Tuepker, A., Vasquez Guzman, C.E., Edwards, S., Waller Uchison, E., Taylor, C. and Eiff, M.P. (2023), "An antidote to what’s ailing healthcare workers: a new (old) way of relational leadership", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 479-494. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-08-2022-0091

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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