Leadership Education, Experience, and Gende
What Influences Leaders’ Self-Efficacy in Municipal Health Services?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/sjvd.6306Keywords:
Leadership Self-Efficacy, Frontline Managers, Municipal Healthcare Sector, Gender, Education, SeniorityAbstract
This study examines Leadership Self-Efficacy (LSE) among frontline managers in the Norwegian municipal healthcare sector, focusing on how gender, education, and seniority influence their perceived ability to succeed in leadership roles. The study is based on a quantitative cross-sectional survey conducted in the summer of 2024, with 459 respondents completing a digital questionnaire. Leadership self-efficacy was measured using a customized version of a validated Norwegian scale, and the data were analyzed using t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression.
The results indicate that the average leadership self-efficacy among managers was slightly lower than expected, with a mean score of 39.57 on a scale from 10 to 50. Furthermore, the variation in self-efficacy was greater than anticipated, suggesting significant differences among the managers. Regarding influencing factors, the study found no significant difference in self-efficacy between male and female managers. However, both education and seniority showed a positive and significant correlation with self-efficacy. Managers with a master’s degree in leadership reported higher self-efficacy than those without, and longer seniority emerged as the strongest predictor of higher self-efficacy.
The findings highlight the importance of experience and education in enhancing leadership self-efficacy but also suggest that organizational conditions and personal traits may play a crucial role. The study concludes that better facilitation for applying newly acquired competencies, along with support through mentoring programs, could help increase self-efficacy among frontline managers. This, in turn, may have positive implications for recruitment, turnover, and the quality of services in the healthcare sector.
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