IN AUTHENTICITY, WE TRUST – THE INFLUENCING FUNCTIONS AND BEHAVIOURS OF AGED CARE LEADERS TO BRIDGE THE INTENTION-EXPERIENCE DISPARITY OF FOLLOWERS

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN This paper is an output from a mixed methods study of aged care employees in which the quantitative results examining the effects of leadership style on organisational identification (OID) and job satisfaction (JS) of aged care employees populated the agenda for semi-structured interviews and the transcripts subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to identify the influencing functions and relate them to associated influencing behaviours of authentic leaders to assist in reducing the intention-experience disparity (IED) found in the thematic analysis of the transcripts of semi-structured interviews of the study participants. FINDINGS AND RESEARCH OUTCOMES Job burnout and organisational disengagement were prevalent in participants. The researcher identified that while aged care leaders worked assiduously to engage their staff, an Intention-Experience Disparity (IED) was operating. Leaders' influencing functions and behaviours are documented from the evidence-based literature and a conceptual model based on authentic leadership principles developed. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The research deployed quantitative measurements to determine the differences in responses to an on online questionnaire that deployed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire™ (MLQ5X[Short]), the Identification with a Psychological Group Scale (IDPG) and the Measure of Job Satisfaction (MJS) and differences between responses from leaders and their raters between measured. These differences were used to explore participants' lived experiences and how they made sense of their personal and social worlds at work. In the quantitative study, there may be an overstatement of the strength of the relationship between variables among those motivated to participate in the study. The qualitative study required the researcher to describe the research context thoroughly. Those who wish to transfer the results of this study to a different context than aged care must judge the transferability of findings. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS Decreasing job disengagement and burnout will reduce attrition and turnover and, thus, the availability of the aged care workforce. It will inform leadership development programs and training in aged care and other health and social care sectors. The workforce is a primary consideration for aged care in Australia and globally. Reducing burnout and disengagement will reduce workforce attrition, thus improving the care for some of the most vulnerable in the population.