Leadership styles and the performance of the managers at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences

Abstract Background: Leadership style influences the effectiveness of the organizations. Objective : Identification of the leadership styles among the managers at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross-sectional study a random sample of 387 employees were selected from a total of 2612 in 2003-2004. The managers' superior leadership styles were sought through LBDQ questionniare. The "ACHIEVE" standard questionnaire also used to assess the performance of the managers. The managers were categorized in three work groups: Ordnance, Health executives, Research and Education. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Findings: The results of the srudy showed that 91.3 % of manegers used initiation structure and 8.7 % consideration leadership styles. Overall leadership style of managers in this study was shown to be initiation structre style. Also in all three work groups, the leadership style used was initiation structure. There was significant difference between the leadership style and the performance of the managers (p<0.05). Moreover, the average of consideration style was increased in all three work groups (60 to 63.77) and so does the mean score level of their performance (51.82 to 55.33). No significant difference was found between three work groups when the seven-item performance factors were compared. Conclution: Since the results indicated that there was a relationship between leadership style and the performance, educating the managers on leadership style theories is recommended. This educational program should focus on the role of leadership in managerial process and effectiveness.