Servant leadership and performance of public hospitals: Trust in the leader and psychological empowerment of nurses.

Abstract

This study examines the effect of servant leadership on the performance of the hospital through the mediating effect of trust in the leader. It further analyses the moderating role of psychological empowerment. Hospitals in Pakistan experience a severe shortage of nurses. Nurses are overworked and need support to provide quality patient care. Servant leadership, which focuses on the growth and development of followers, is of relevance in such context. A sample of 339 registered nurses from four public hospitals in Pakistan provided survey data. Instruments with established psychometric properties and structural equation modelling were used to test the model. Servant leadership has a significant direct effect on trust in the leader and an indirect effect on the performance of the hospital through trust in the leader. A moderated mediation test reveals that the relationship between trust in the leader and the performance of the hospital is stronger when nurses report high psychological empowerment. Servant leadership instils trust among nurses and elevates the organisational performance of the hospital. Hospitals should select and train nurse managers who can embody the principles of servant leadership and provide resources to increase psychological empowerment among nurses.