Self-perception of leadership style of dentists: heads of dental departments in community hospitals, Southern Thailand

Abstract

Leadership is crucial in all professions and organisations, including the oral health profession. The aims of this analytical cross-sectional study were to evaluate the self-reported leadership behaviours and the factors influencing leadership behaviours among dentists who were heads of dental departments in community hospitals, southern Thailand. The self-administered questionnaire was composed of four parts: personal data; a 45-item Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire version 5× short (MLQ 5× short); a 34-item organisational climate perception; and a 52-item emotional intelligence screening test. Of 134 dentists, 133 returned the questionnaire, providing a 99.3% response rate. The scores on the transactional component had a mean score of 2.98 (SD=0.46). The transformational scores ranged with a mean of 2.90 (SD=0.49). The scores of the passive leadership component had the lowest results, with a mean of 1.21 (SD=0.57). Afterwards, the highest score for each head of the dental department was examined and compared across the three components. Approximately 60% of the dentists fell on the transactional, 34.6% on the transformational and 2.3% on the passive-avoidant scale. Multiple linear regression showed that the factors influencing the leadership of the dentists included emotional intelligence, the professional position of the dentists and the perception of the organisational climate. The majority of heads of dental departments had transactional leadership style followed by transformational leadership style, and passive-avoidance was the least common. Emotional intelligence, the professional position and the perception of the organisational climate significantly increased the transformational leadership score.