WORKFORCE
bullied”, but actually it’s a rude behaviour and
usually doesn’t demonstrate respect.
You found that managers who
demonstrate authentic leadership can
have an impact on nurses’ perception on
incivility. What traits or qualities make a
manager an authentic leader?
Well, an authentic manager is one who is
true to him or herself in terms of leadership
behaviour. In the literature, authentic
leaders are also those who tend to be more
ethical in their treatment of others. So, in
a sense, authentic leaders are basically
individuals who are perceived to be better
leaders, who are much better at treating
others with respect and not engaging in
negative workplace behaviours.
When you look at the literature, authentic
leaders are those who are guided by sound
moral convictions, and they tend to act
according to their own personal values,
even when under pressure, which we know
is quite typical in the healthcare sector,
where both managers and nurses have to
work in a very fast paced environment.
What impact does authentic leadership
have on incivility, and does it play a
role in bullying or other aspects of
workplace behaviour?
Forgive me for being theoretical,
but authentic leaders are basically
comprised of four different dimensions.
They are people who have very good
self-awareness. They have an internal
moral compass, for instance. So they
know what’s good and what’s wrong.
They are very transparent in how they
would like to interact with others.
They focus on that relationship building,
they are relationship builders.
Also, authentic leaders have a sense of
what’s going on around them.
When you look at these four
dimensions, you can see that individuals
who are authentic would not engage
in negative workplace behaviours.
They treat others how they would
like to be treated: with respect.
They would not engage in negative
workplace behaviours.
When I talked about workplace incivility,
it’s basically where there are incidents of
managers treating their insubordinates
without respect. So, in that sense, I would
expect an authentic manager or leader
to be one who would not engage in rude
behaviour towards others in the workplace.
What do you hope managers, nurses
or their providers take away from the
study’s findings?
Well, what I’m hoping to say here is
that, for organisations which put a
high emphasis on human relations
and harmonious workplace relationships,
they would need to train their managers
to understand that if they don’t exhibit
the four dimensions of authentic leaders,
it’s likely that employees will feel that they
are not being valued, that they are not
being respected.
So, if we want harmonious workplace
relationships, managers need to play an
important part in creating the workplace
culture and climate that results in respect
for employees and respect for differences.
Even in times of pressure. ■
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