Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Health Services
Advisor
Lloyd Ford
Abstract
AbstractTeamwork in healthcare is a dynamic and complex process where interdisciplinary individuals must come together to deliver high-quality patient care. Despite significant overall improvements in healthcare delivery, process failures and communication breakdowns continue to be problematic leading to inefficiencies within the healthcare system resulting in higher costs, and in some instances, preventable patient harm. An examination of the relationship between leadership, psychological safety, and team performance provides valuable insight on the importance of the role leadership plays in shaping psychologically safe environments and enhancing team performance. Using servant leadership theory as the framework for this study, a quantitative correlational approach was conducted to examine the relationship between psychological safety, servant leadership and team performance. A sample of 228 participants were recruited from 13 ambulatory clinics in a large healthcare organization in the northeastern region of the United States. The results show there is a statistically significant relationship between the three variables, with both leadership and psychological safety being predictors of team performance. These results provide a more dynamic view of the importance of leadership in fostering a sense of psychological safety within a team that can then be used to positively affect social change within the field of healthcare leadership practice. By enhancing team performance, both the team members and patients benefit by reducing team turnover as well as lowering healthcare costs and preventing unnecessary patient harm.
Recommended Citation
Palmiero, Amy Lynn, "The Relationship of Servant Leadership and Psychological Safety on Team Performance In Healthcare" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13080.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13080
