The influence of authentic leadership behaviors on trust and work outcomes of health care staff

TLDR

Trust between staff and leaders is essential for a healthy work environment, and authentic leadership—emphasizing honesty, integrity, and ethical standards—is proposed as the core mechanism to build that trust. The study examined a model linking authentic leadership behaviors to trust in management, perceptions of supportive groups, and work outcomes such as voice, job performance, and burnout. The model was tested with structural equation modeling on two samples of health care employees (147 clinical and 188 nonclinical) from a western Canadian cancer care agency. Results indicate that supportive leader behavior and trust in management are necessary for staff to voice concerns and suggest improvements to the workplace and patient care.

Abstract

Abstract A key element of a healthy work environment is trust: trust between staff and their leaders. Authentic leadership is proposed as the core of effective leadership needed to build trust because of its clear focus on the positive role modeling of honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards in the development of leader‐follower relationships. A model linking authentic leadership behaviors with trust in management, perceptions of supportive groups and work outcomes (including voice or speaking‐up behavior, self‐rated job performance, and burnout) using secondary analysis procedures was examined. The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling in two samples of health care employees from a western Canadian cancer care agency: clinical care providers including nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and other professionals ( N = 147) and nonclinical employees including administrative, support, and research staff ( N = 188). Findings suggest that supportive leader behavior and trust in management are necessary for staff to be willing to voice concerns and offer suggestions to improve the workplace and patient care.