AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF SELF-MANAGEMENT TRAINING ON A GROUP LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM FOR HOSPITAL MANAGERS

A group leadership training program was developed and presented to department heads and head nurses at Lincoln General Hospital, Lincoln, Nebraska. This study evaluated the impact of this program. It also investigated the enhancing effect (if any) of including self-management training in the leadership program. Trainees were randomly placed into two training groups. A multiple-baseline research design was employed. Group 1 received group leadership training without self-management training. This group completed their training before Group 2 began the program. Group 2 then received the same training and in addition received training in self-management. Criterion measures contrasted the 2 groups to reveal differences. Criterion measures were employed on 4 levels of evaluation: (1) trainee attitudes toward the program, (2) knowledge and skill acquisition, (3) on-the-job behavior change, and (4) organizational functioning (the effectiveness of subordinate work-groups). An attitude survey was employed on the first level. A pre-post achievement measure examined the second level. Pre-post tape recordings of staff meetings led by trainees and a self-report survey measure of managerial behavior were employed to assess the third level. Finally, a self-report survey, developed for this study, measured subordinates\u27 perceptions of work-group effectiveness (level 4). The evaluation revealed that group leadership training can influence on-the-job behavior and also impact the perceptions of subordinates regarding the effectiveness of their work groups. Significant differences between the two groups were observed on evaluation levels 1 and 4. Trainees receiving both self-management training and the leadership training found the program to be more interesting and useful than trainees receiving only group leadership training. Subordinates of trainees in Group 2 reported increases in group effectiveness while subordinates of Group 1 trainees (especially male trainees) reported declines. It was concluded that including self-management training in this group leadership training program was more beneficial for males. It was hypothesized that differences that may exist between the sexes in verbal and abstract reasoning abilities may explain the pattern of results observed in this study