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Discrepancies in Leader and Follower Ratings of Transformational Leadership: Relationship with Organizational Culture in Mental Health

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Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The role of leadership in the management and delivery of health and allied health services is often discussed but lacks empirical research. Discrepancies are often found between leaders’ self-ratings and followers’ ratings of the leader. To our knowledge no research has examined leader–follower discrepancies and their association with organizational culture in mental health clinics. The current study examines congruence, discrepancy, and directionality of discrepancy in relation to organizational culture in 38 mental health teams (N = 276). Supervisors and providers completed surveys including ratings of the supervisor transformational leadership and organizational culture. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis models were computed examining the associations of leadership discrepancy and defensive organizational culture and its subscales. Discrepancies between supervisor and provider reports of transformational leadership were associated with a more negative organizational culture. Culture suffered more where supervisors rated themselves more positively than providers, in contrast to supervisors rating themselves lower than the provider ratings of the supervisor. Leadership and leader discrepancy should be a consideration in improving organizational culture and for strategic initiatives such as quality of care and the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practice.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants R01MH072961; R21MH082731; R21MH098124; K01MH001695. The authors thank the community stakeholders, providers, and supervisors who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive (0812), La Jolla, CA, 92093-0812, USA

    Gregory A. Aarons, Lauren R. Farahnak, Marisa Sklar & Jonathan Horowitz

  2. San Diego State University, San Diego, USA

    Mark G. Ehrhart

  3. Child & Adolescent Services Research Center, San Diego, USA

    Gregory A. Aarons, Lauren R. Farahnak, Marisa Sklar & Jonathan Horowitz

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  1. Gregory A. Aarons
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Correspondence to Gregory A. Aarons.

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Aarons, G.A., Ehrhart, M.G., Farahnak, L.R. et al. Discrepancies in Leader and Follower Ratings of Transformational Leadership: Relationship with Organizational Culture in Mental Health. Adm Policy Ment Health 44, 480–491 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-015-0672-7

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