Dean\u27s Leadership Style and Its Relationship to Department Chairpersons\u27 Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine the types of leadership styles of allied health deans in academic health centers and the relationship of the perceived leadership styles to department chairpersons’ job satisfaction. A correlational research design was utilized. A Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference in department chairpersons’ satisfaction scores as a function of deans’ leadership style (X2 = 62.4, DF = 3, P = .001). A pair wise Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was performed on all combinations of satisfaction scores by leadership style. The results indicated that when department chairpersons perceived that their deans possessed a management style with high consideration behavior as one component, they derived more satisfaction on the job. A high task/high consideration management style was associated with significantly higher satisfaction levels for chairpersons when compared to all other styles