Self-leadership and job performance of nurses in regional hospitals in Thailand

Abstract

Objectives Self-leadership is an important factor for nurses which influences the quality of nursing care and job performance. This descriptive-correlational study was conducted to explore self-leadership and job performance as well as the relationship between self-leadership and job performance of nurses working in regional hospitals. Methods The participants were 438 nurses working in regional hospitals located in the northern region of Thailand who had been selected using a multi-stage sampling method. Research instruments included a demographic data questionnaire, the Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire (RSLQ) and the Nursing Performance Scale which were translated into the Thai language by the researcher. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient reliabilities of RSLQ, task performance and contextual performance were 0.93, 0.91 and 0.92, respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results The study found that self-leadership of the nurses in regional hospitals was at the moderate level (X = 3.60, SD = 0.52). Self-leadership dimensions of behavior-focused strategies (X = 3.58, SD = 0.52) and constructive thought pattern strategies (X = 3.53, SD = 0.60) were also at moderate levels, while natural reward strategies (X = 3.71, SD = 0.60) was at a high level. Task performance of the nurses (X = 56.82, SD = 9.76) was at a high level, while contextual performance of the nurses (X = 63.29, SD = 10.76) was at a moderate level. Self-leadership of nurses was statistically significantly positively related to task performance and contextual performance at 0.05 (r = 0.40, 0.50 respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions Self-leadership of nurses was statistically significantly positively related to job performance. Nursing administrators can use data obtained from the research as a basis for planning to enhance the self-leadership of nurses, which can improve the quality of performance and result in positive outcomes for enhance nursing service. Chiang Mai Medical Journal 2021;60(1):99-112. doi 10.12982/CMUMEDJ.2021.09