Impacts of leadership styles in health and social services: A case from Quebec exploring relationships between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership

Abstract

ABSTRACT Demographic trends of the last few decades have had a strong impact on Western societies and their healthcare systems. In recent times, an overhaul of Quebec’s health and social services network has created numerous challenges for those charged with implementing the projected reforms. Accordingly, the leadership style of these actors could represent a lever for driving effective change. The present study was conducted among 171 employees working closely with executive directors (ED) of the health and social services network that were affected by the mergers of member institutions. These employees evaluated the emotional intelligence and transformational leadership of their ED, thus allowing us to explore the impact of ED leadership style on employee organizational behaviors during organizational changes. Results from a path analysis indicate that emotional intelligence is positively related to transformational leadership, with the latter competency linking to the perception of organizational justice and job satisfaction. Results further revealed other indirect benefits of working under executive directors who display higher emotional intelligence and transformational leadership, such as higher employee commitment and motivation, and lower stress and exhaustion. Overall, this study reinforces the idea that emotional intelligence and transformational leadership are essential competencies for the successful implementation of reforms in the healthcare system.