Impact of empowering leadership on emotional exhaustion: A controlled interventional study in a large French university hospital complex

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effect of a systemic intervention on the evolution of empowering leadership and emotional exhaustion in a university hospital sub-centre compared to a control sub-centre, both being part of a large French university hospital complex. Background: Empowering leadership is a promising strategy for developing hospital team engagement and performance. However, the bureaucratic functioning of large hospitals, characterized by a managerial culture of control and a stratified organization, can be a barrier to empowering leadership. Methods: The intervention included empowering leadership training, direct field experimentation of empowering leadership and coaching, involving all the sub-centre hierarchical levels for 12 months. Data were collected before and after the intervention. A total of 441 and 310 participants were, respectively, included in the intervention and control sub-centres. Results: Empowering leadership was decreased, and emotional exhaustion was increased in the control sub-centre, while the scores remained stable in the intervention sub-centre. The increased emotional exhaustion in the control sub-centre could partially be explained by the change in empowering leadership. Conclusion: In a context of decreased empowering leadership and increased emotional exhaustion, the intervention had a protective effect. Implications for the design of future interventions were discussed. Implications for Nursing Management: This study unequivocally showed the benefit of transforming hospital management towards empowering leadership, to prevent increased emotional exhaustion. Registration number: This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov on 4 July 2019 (NCT04010773).