Supervisors' transformational leadership style and residents' job crafting in surgical training: the residents' views

This study aims to explore the effects of three supervisors' leadership styles (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) on residents' job crafting.

Sequential explanatory mixed-methods. First, a purposive sample of residents rated the leadership style of their supervisors and their own job crafting on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Dutch Job Crafting Scale. The effects were tested through linear mixed effects regression analysis. Thereafter we conducted semi-structured interviews with residents and conducted a thematic analysis.

A total of 116 residents participated. A transformational style had a positive effect on residents' job crafting (b = .19, t₍₁₁₂₎ =3.76, p=. 009), whereas the transactional and laissez-faire styles did not. This could be explained by the fact that residents felt a positive influence of the supervisors with such style on the atmosphere for training, on the job resources available to them, and on their modelling function for how to handle the demands of the environment.

A transformational style of the supervisor has a positive effect on residents' job crafting. Future research should explore the supervisors' perspective, as well as the effectiveness of leadership training for supervisors with a focus on resident outcomes, such as job crafting.