What Makes a Leader: Identifying the Strengths of Canadian Physical Therapists

To identify the personal strengths of Canadian physical therapists who hold leadership positions and compare them with the strengths of Canadian physical therapists who do not occupy positions of leadership.

A quantitative, cross-sectional online survey was distributed to registered Canadian physical therapists. We used the Clifton StrengthsFinder to evaluate 34 characteristics and determine which characteristics described a participant's strengths. Population demographics and leadership strengths were described via frequency distributions and percentages; chi-square analyses and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare differences between groups.

Of 173 physical therapists who completed the survey, 108 occupied a position of leadership, and 65 did not. Those in the leader group had significantly more experience and achieved a higher level of education. Leaders most frequently exhibited the strengths of learner, achiever, responsibility, input, and strategic, whereas non-leaders most frequently displayed strengths of learner, achiever, input, relator, and harmony. Leaders were significantly more likely than non-leaders to possess the achiever strength. Gender, level of education, and years of experience did not significantly influence which strengths were present in the leadership profile.

There is substantial overlap between leaders and non-leaders in terms of leadership profiles. Future research should investigate whether leadership strengths vary depending on the leadership position occupied and whether leadership development initiatives promote leadership strengths.