Leadership for Innovation in Healthcare: An Exploration

Document Type : Perspective

Authors

Department of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Abstract

Although leadership has been studied extensively, most research has focused on the political and military spheres. More recent work has also examined the role of leadership in sectors such as manufacturing and technology, both areas where it is essential to encourage and nurture innovation. Yet, in the health sector, where innovation is now high on the policy agenda in many countries, there is a paucity of research on how leadership can foster a culture of innovation. In this perspective, written for those seeking to foster innovation in the health sector, we offer a narrative synthesis approach of eight theories and concepts that have been empirically shown to support innovation through all phases of the innovation process.

Highlights

Supplementary File 1 (Download)

 

Watch the Video Summary here.

 

Keywords

Main Subjects


 

 

  1. Yukl GA. Leadership in organizations. London: Pearson; 2006.
  2. Basu R, Green SG. Leader‐member exchange and transformational leadership: an empirical examination of innovative behaviors in leader‐member dyads. J Appl Soc Psychol. 1997;27(6):477-499.
  3. Mazzucato M. The entrepreneurial state. Soundings. 2011;49(49):131-142.
  4. Martins EC, Terblanche F. Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation. European JOURNAL of Innovation Management. 2003;6(1):64-74.
  5. Greenhalgh T, Robert G, Macfarlane F, Bate P, Kyriakidou O. Diffusion of innovations in service organizations: systematic review and recommendations. Milbank Q. 2004;82(4):581-629. doi:10.1111/j.0887-378X.2004.00325.x
  6. Kimberly JR, Evanisko MJ. Organizational innovation: the influence of individual, organizational, and contextual factors on hospital adoption of technological and administrative innovations. Acad Manage J. 1981;24(4):689-713.
  7. Storey J, Holti R. Towards a New Model of Leadership for the NHS. 2013.
  8. Antes AL, Mart A, DuBois JM. Are Leadership and Management Essential for Good Research? An Interview Study of Genetic Researchers. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2016;11(5):408-423.
  9. Lombardi MM, Spratling RG, Pan W, Shapiro SE. Measuring Organizational Capacity to Accelerate Health Care Innovation in Academic Health Centers. Qual Manag Health Care. 2018;27(1):1-7.
  10. Tidd T, Bessant J. Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change-5/E. Wiley;2013.
  11. Borgatta EF, Bales RF, Couch AS. Some findings relevant to the great man theory of leadership. Am Sociol Rev. 1954;19(6):755-759.
  12. Colbert AE, Judge TA, Choi D, Wang G. Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success. Leadersh Q. 2012;23(4):670-685.
  13. Lewin K, Lippitt R, White RK. Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created “social climates”. J Soc Psychol. 1939;10(2):269-299.
  14. Likert R. The Human Organization: Its Management and Values. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1967.
  15. Hersey P, Blanchard KH, Johnson DE. Management of organizational behavior. Vol 9. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2007.
  16. Vroom VH, Yetton PW. Leadership and decision-making. Vol 110. University of Pittsburgh Press; 1973.
  17. Schumpeter JA. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Routledge; 2010.
  18. Chesbrough H, Vanhaverbeke W, West J. Open innovation: Researching a new paradigm. Oxford University Press; 2006.
  19. Henderson RM, Clark KB. Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Adm Sci Q. 1990;35(1):9-30.
  20. Rogers EM. Diffusion of innovations. Simon and Schuster; 2010.
  21. Popay J, Roberts H, Sowden A, et al. Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. A product from the ESRC methods programme Version. 2006.
  22. Wisdom JP, Chor KHB, Hoagwood KE, Horwitz SM. Innovation adoption: a review of theories and constructs. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2014;41(4):480-502.
  23. Smith DB, Kaluzny AD. The White Labyrinth: A Guide to the Health Care System. Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press; 1986.
  24. Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health. Disruptive Innovation - considerations for health and health care in Europe. Luxembourg: European Commission; 2016.
  25. Jacobs SR, Weiner BJ, Reeve BB, Hofmann DA, Christian M, Weinberger M. Determining the predictors of innovation implementation in healthcare: a quantitative analysis of implementation effectiveness. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015;15(1):6.
  26. Weng RH, Huang CY, Chen LM, Chang LY. Exploring the impact of transformational leadership on nurse innovation behaviour: a cross-sectional study. J Nurs Manag. 2015;23(4):427-439. doi:10.1111/jonm.12149
  27. Weng RH, Huang CY, Huang JA, Wang MH. The cross‐level impact of patient safety climate on nursing innovation: a cross‐sectional questionnaire survey. J Clin Nurs. 2012;21(15‐16):2262-2274.
  28. Helfrich CD, Weiner BJ, McKinney MM, Minasian L. Determinants of implementation effectiveness adapting a framework for complex innovations. Med Care Res Rev. 2007;64(3):279-303. doi:10.1177/1077558707299887
  29. Klein KJ, Sorra JS. The challenge of innovation implementation. Acad Manage Rev. 1996;21(4):1055-1080.
  30. Graen G, Uhl-Biel M. Relationship-based approaches to leadership: Development of LMX theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a mulit-domain approach. Leadersh Q. 1995;6:219-247.
  31. Deluga RJ. Leader-member exchange quality and effectiveness ratings: The role of subordinate-supervisor conscientiousness similarity. Group Organ Manag. 1998;23(2):189-216.
  32. Bucciarelli L. A review of innovation and change management: stage model and power influences. Universal Journal of Management. 2015;3(1):36-42.
  33. Schermuly CC, Meyer B, Dammer L. Leader-member exchange and innovative behavior: the mediating role of psychological empowerment. J Pers Psychol. 2013;12(3):132-142. doi:10.1027/1866-5888/a000093
  34. West MA, Anderson NR. Innovation in top management teams. J Appl Psychol. 1996;81(6):680-693.
  35. Grootaert C, Van Bastelaer T. Understanding and measuring social capital: A multidisciplinary tool for practitioners. Vol 1. World Bank Publications; 2002.
  36. Baker WE, Grinstein A, Harmancioglu N. Whose Innovation Performance Benefits More from External Networks: Entrepreneurial or Conservative Firms? J Prod Innov Manage. 2015. doi:10.1111/jpim.12263
  37. Landry R, Amara N, Lamari M. Does social capital determine innovation? To what extent? Technol Forecast Soc Change. 2002;69(7):681-701.
  38. Kohler T, Janssen C, Plath SC, et al. Communication, social capital and workplace health management as determinants of the innovative climate in German banks. Int J Public Health. 2010;55(6):561-570. doi:10.1007/s00038-010-0195-7
  39. Yang CW. Implementing hospital innovation in Taiwan: the perspectives of institutional theory and social capital. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2015;30(4):403-425. doi:10.1002/hpm.2248
  40. McFadyen MA, Cannella Jr AA. Social capital and knowledge creation: Diminishing returns of the number and strength of exchange relationships. Acad Manage J. 2004;47(5):735-746.
  41. Kyratsis Y, Ahmad R, Holmes A. Technology adoption and implementation in organisations: comparative case studies of 12 English NHS Trusts. BMJ Open. 2012;2(2):e000872. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000872
  42. Coffé H, Geys B. Toward an empirical characterization of bridging and bonding social capital. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q. 2007;36(1):121-139.
  43. West MA, Borrill CS, Dawson JF, Brodbec F, Shapiro DA, Haward B. Leadership clarity and team innovation in health care. Leadersh Q. 2003;14(4):393-410.
  44. Jung DI, Chow C, Wu A. The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation: Hypotheses and some preliminary findings. Leadersh Q. 2003;14(4):525-544.
  45. Schippers MC, West MA, Dawson JF. Team reflexivity and innovation: The moderating role of team context. J Manage. 2015:41(3):769-788. Doi:10.1177/0149206312441210
  46. Persaud DD. Enhancing learning, innovation, adaptation, and sustainability in health care organizations: the ELIAS performance management framework. Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2014;33(3):183-204. doi:10.1097/hcm.0000000000000014
  47. Deng BH, Bligh MC, Kohles JC, Schyns B, Hansbrough T. To err is human, to lead is divine? The role of leaders in learning from workplace mistakes. In Schyns B, Hansbrough T, eds. When Leadership Goes Wrong: Destructive Leadership, Mistakes and Ethical Failures. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing; 2010.
  48. Yan Q, Bligh MC, Kohles JC. Absence Makes the Errors Go Longer: How Leaders Inhibit Learning From Errors. Z Psychol. 2014;222(4):233-245.
  49. Bligh MC, Kohles JC, Yan Q. Leading and learning to change: the role of leadership style and mindset in error learning and organizational change. Journal of Change Management. 2018;18(2):116-141. doi:10.1080/14697017.2018.1446693
  50. Herbig P, Dunphy S. Culture and innovation. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal. 1998;5(4):13-21.
  51. Schein EH. Organizational culture and leadership. Vol 2. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons; 2010.
  52. Liebe JD, Esdar M, Thye J, Hubner U. Antecedents of CIOs' Innovation Capability in Hospitals: Results of an Empirical Study. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2017;243:142-146.
  53. Carlstrom ED, Ekman I. Organisational culture and change: implementing person-centred care. J Health Organ Manag. 2012;26(2):175-191. doi:10.1108/14777261211230763
  54. Taylor N, Clay-Williams R, Hogden E, Braithwaite J, Groene O. High performing hospitals: a qualitative systematic review of associated factors and practical strategies for improvement. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015;15:244. doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0879-z
  55. Braithwaite J, Herkes J, Ludlow K, Testa L, Lamprell G. Association between organisational and workplace cultures, and patient outcomes: systematic review. BMJ Open. 2017;7(11):e017708. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017708
  56. Mash R, De Sa A, Christodoulou M. How to change organisational culture: Action research in a South African public sector primary care facility. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2016;8(1):e1-9. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v8i1.1184
  57. Caridi‐Zahavi O, Carmeli A, Arazy O. The Influence of CEOs' Visionary Innovation Leadership on the Performance of High‐Technology Ventures: The Mediating Roles of Connectivity and Knowledge Integration. J Prod Innov Manage. 2015;33(3):356-376. doi:10.1111/jpim.12275
  58. Mintzberg H. Managing. Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 2011.
  59. Elenkov DS, Judge W, Wright P. Strategic leadership and executive innovation influence: an international multi‐cluster comparative study. Strategic Management Journal. 2005;26(7):665-682.
  60. Shubeck SP, Kanters AE, Dimick JB. Surgeon leadership style and risk-adjusted patient outcomes. Surg Endosc. 2018. doi:10.1007/s00464-018-6320-z
  61. Hockaday MS. Trauma leadership strategies to prevent and reduce burnout in urban academic trauma centers. J Trauma Nurs. 2017;24(6):345-350. doi:10.1097/jtn.0000000000000324
  62. McCay R, Lyles AA, Larkey L. Nurse leadership style, nurse satisfaction, and patient satisfaction: a systematic review. J Nurs Care Qual. 2018;33(4):361-367. doi:10.1097/ncq.0000000000000317
  63. Lin PY, MacLennan S, Hunt N, Cox T. The influences of nursing transformational leadership style on the quality of nurses' working lives in Taiwan: a cross-sectional quantitative study. BMC Nurs. 2015;14:33. doi:10.1186/s12912-015-0082-x
  64. Cummings GG, Tate K, Lee S, et al. Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: A systematic review. Int J Nurs Stud. 2018;85:19-60. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.04.016
  65. Alkassabi OY, Al-Sobayel H, Al-Eisa ES, Buragadda S, Alghadir AH, Iqbal A. Job satisfaction among physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia: does the leadership style matter? BMC Health Serv Res. 2018;18(1):422. doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3184-9
  66. Chatfield JS, Longenecker CO, Fink LS, Gold JP. Ten CEO imperatives for healthcare transformation: lessons from top-performing academic medical centers. J Healthc Manag. 2017;62(6):371-383. doi:10.1097/jhm-d-16-00003
  67. Bagheri A, Akbari M. The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on nurses' innovation behavior. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2018;50(1):28-35. doi:10.1111/jnu.12354
  68. Patel VM, Ashrafian H, Uzoho C, et al. Leadership behaviours and healthcare research performance: prospective correlational study. Postgrad Med J. 2016;92(1093):663-669. doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2016-134088
  69. Creswell JW. Research design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage publications; 2014.
  70. Lieff SJ, Yammarino FJ. How to lead the way through complexity, constraint, and uncertainty in academic health science centers. Acad Med. 2017;92(5):614-621. doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000001475
  71. Pizzo PA, Lawley TJ, Rubenstein AH. Role of leaders in fostering meaningful collaborations between academic medical centers and industry while also managing individual and institutional conflicts of interest. JAMA. 2017;317(17):1729-1730. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.2573
  72. Weil TP. Leadership in academic health centers in the US: a review of the role and some recommendations. Health Serv Manage Res. 2014;27(1-2):22-32. doi:10.1177/0951484814546958
  73. Cohen SG, Bailey DE. What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. J Manage. 1997;23(3):239-290.
  74. Weintraub P. Leadership of Health Innovation: Building an Innovative Health Organisation. University of London, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; 2018.
  75. Center for Evidence Based Management. Critical Appraisal Questionnaires. http://www.cebma.org/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-critical-appraisal/.
  76. Garrard J. Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2014.
Volume 8, Issue 3
March 2019
Pages 138-144
  • Receive Date: 11 September 2018
  • Revise Date: 26 November 2018
  • Accept Date: 06 December 2018
  • First Publish Date: 01 March 2019