Date Presented 03/21/2024
This survey-based study quantified the strength of servant leadership qualities in current occupational therapy leaders, and identified strengths and opportunities for growth for current or aspiring leaders in the field.
Primary Author and Speaker: Dina Prisco
PURPOSE: Literature review found a resounding call for leadership and an inherent alignment between servant leadership (SL) and occupational therapy (OT) practice (Dunbar-Smalley & Winston, 2022; Lamb, 2019). A paucity of research quantifying the connection between the two was identified. This study aimed to examine the existing application of SL within OT, and to identify opportunities for growth.
DESIGN: A survey-based design collected SL self-reports from current OT leaders, identified for this research as full- or part-time faculty members in professional-level OT education programs, based on faculty experiential requirements outlined by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education's Standards (ACOTE, 2018). Faculty members working in programs in the applicant phase of accreditation or in solely administrative roles were excluded. Participants were recruited via email using publicly available information collected from ACOTE and institutional websites.
METHOD: The Servant Leadership Behavior Scale (SLBS), a 35-item, 5-point Likert style questionnaire, was used to obtain whole and subsection scores on participants' SL qualities (Sendjaya & Cooper, 2011). ANOVA and t-tests were used to identify if and where significant differences in SL behaviors existed between subsections.
RESULTS: 370 participants met inclusionary criteria. The mean whole score on the SLBS was 4.27, indicating an existing strength of SL qualities in OT leaders (Sendjaya & Cooper, 2011). The alpha level for this study was set at .05. Two subsections of the SLBS were found to have significantly lower scores (p < .001): covenantal relationship (M = 4.13) and authentic self (M = 4.12).
CONCLUSION & IMPACT: This study validated the potentiality for continued use of a SL model by OT leaders. It identified areas where current or aspiring leaders may seek growth opportunities. Limitations included small sample size and potential biases by voluntary, self-reporting participants.
References
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. (2018). 2018 Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) standards and interpretive guide. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(Suppl. 2), 7212410005. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S217
Dunbar-Smalley, S. & Winston, K. (Eds.). (2022). An occupational perspective on leadership: Theoretical and practical dimensions (3rd ed.). Slack Incorporated.
Lamb, A. J. (2019). Be bold: A call to action for occupational therapy. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(6). 7306120010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.736001
Sendjaya, S. & Cooper, B. (2011). Servant leadership behaviour scale: A hierarchical model and test of construct validity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20(3), 416–436. https://doi.org/10.1080.13594321003590549
