The Relationship Between Leader Efficacy, Emotional Intelligence, and Transformational Leadership Among Physician Assistant Program Directors

Transformational leadership is espoused as one of the most effective leadership styles, particularly in its positive associations with increasing employee motivation, creativity, performance, and job satisfaction. This study examined the relationship between leader efficacy, emotional intelligence, years of experience, and transformational leadership among physician assistant (PA) program directors.

A cross-sectional online survey was emailed to PA program directors across the United States. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the sample, and multiple regression was used to analyze the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

The study sample consisted of 86 program directors. Participants reported high leader efficacy and emotional intelligence. There was a significant predictive relationship between variables (P < .001). The adjusted R2 was 0.34, indicating that approximately 34% of the variance of the criterion variable can be explained by the combination of predictor variables. Significant predictors were leader efficacy (P < .001) and emotional intelligence (P < .010), while years of experience was not a predictor (P = .161).

With the exponential growth in the number of PA education programs comes the need for effective leaders. This study's findings suggest the need for more targeted professional development for program directors to enhance leader efficacy and strengthen emotional intelligence. In addition, institutions should provide program directors with adequate tools and resources that will facilitate their leadership roles.