An Evaluation of the Leadership Attitudes of Managers in Turkish Armed Forces' Hospitals

Abstract

Background: As in any other institution, the success of hospitals, which use approximately one-half of all resources in the health sector, depends on moving human resources toward the institution's goals. Ensuring that the workers are used intentionally for specific, predetermined goals, and that the workers are motivated toward achieving these institutional goals are the responsibilities of the managers. Objective: In this study, the leadership attitudes of the higher rank executive officers in Turkish Armed Forces' military hospitals were evaluated. Methods: The managerial grid developed by Blake and Mouton was used to evaluate the leadership attitudes of the officers. A total of 172 questionnaires was sent out to managers, but only 142 (82.6%) were returned completed. Results: The study results show that the managers substantially preferred team leadership styles in terms of leadership philosophy, planning, and evaluation functions, but preferred task-oriented leadership and mid-way leadership styles in terms of execution. Also, it was found that 72% of all managers practiced team leadership in terms of the overall leadership manner. Conclusions: It seems as if the type of leadership participants preferred was team leadership, and the least was passive leadership. From this finding, we suggest that the managers in Turkish Armed Forces' hospitals are not only interested in their work and goals, but also in the interests of their workers as human beings.