The impact of servant leadership dimensions on leader–member exchange among health care professionals

Journal article, 2016

Aim: The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of servant leadership dimensions on leader–member exchange (LMX) among health-care professionals. Background: Leadership support and the quality of the dyadic relationship between the leader and the employee are essential regarding the work environment and turnover intentions in health care. Method: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was undertaken at four hospital units in Sweden. The study sample included 240 employees. Results: Significant bivariate correlations were found between all servant leadership dimensions and LMX. The strongest correlations were found between ‘humility’ and LMX (r = 0.69, P < 0.001), and ‘empowerment’ and LMX (r = 0.67, P < 0.001). The hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ‘empowerment’, ‘humility’ and ‘stewardship’ explained about 55% of the variance in LMX. Conclusion: In our study servant leadership dimensions were strongly related to LMX. Implications for nursing management: The results identify specific servant leadership dimensions that are likely to be useful for developing a stronger exchange relationship between the leader (e.g. nursing manager) and individual subordinates in health care.