Leadership and community healthcare reform: a study using the Competing Values Framework (CVF)

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology
• Leadership Studies

Background:

• Ireland's Health Service Executive is implementing integrated community care reform.
• Successful reform hinges on developing staff leadership capacity.
• Understanding current and preferred leadership is crucial for organizational readiness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify leadership styles observed in community healthcare settings.
• To determine staff preferences for leadership approaches.
• To assess organizational readiness for integrated care reform through leadership development.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional online survey using the Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (based on Competing Values Framework).
• Four leadership types assessed: Clan (Collaborative), Adhocracy (Creative), Market (Competitive), and Hierarchy (Controlling).
• 445 community healthcare employees compared observed and preferred leadership styles.

Main Results:

• Observed leadership predominantly Market (34.38%) and Hierarchical (34.38%).
• Preferred leadership style was overwhelmingly Clan (40.38%).
• Significant differences (p < 0.001) indicate a gap between current and desired leadership.

Conclusions:

• Current leadership in community healthcare is largely controlling and competitive.
• A lack of collaborative leadership hinders the implementation of integrated care reform.
• Assessing leadership types is vital for gauging readiness for healthcare reform.