Physical Therapists' Perceptions of Leadership across the Health Care Continuum: A Brief Report

Abstract

Purpose: To describe and compare Canadian physical therapists' perspectives on the importance of characteristics required for leadership in the workplace and in society and to explore the implications for the profession. Methods: This quantitative, cross-sectional study used a web-based survey of members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) with a registered email address (n=6156). The perceived importance of leadership characteristics at the workplace level versus the societal level was examined using a Mann-Whitney U test, with the significance set at α=0.05. Results: A total of 1,511 respondents completed the questionnaire for a 24.5% response rate; they rated communication, professionalism, and credibility as the most important characteristics. For each of the 15 leadership characteristics, significantly fewer physical therapists chose the rating “extremely important” at the societal level than did so at the workplace level (p<0.001 for all characteristics). Conclusions: Physical therapists consistently rate leadership characteristics as more important in the workplace than at the societal level. Future research should aim to guide understanding about the reasons for this difference in perceived importance of leadership characteristics across different contexts.

How does leadership manifest in the patient–therapist interaction among physiotherapists in primary health care? A qualitative study

“…This lack of self-awareness of using leadership skills in the patienttherapist interaction might be a barrier to taking a step from informal to formal leadership roles. This aligns with findings by Desveaux and Verrier (2014) who argued that physiotherapists may be more focused on leadership in the immediate workplace environment than in societal settings. Wylie and Gallagher (2009) suggest that physiotherapists' approach to inspiring and empowering others makes them "naturally advantaged" to practice transformational leadership.…”

“…To our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study of how leadership manifests in the patient-therapist interaction among physiotherapists in primary health care. The study findings nuance those of previous studies of leadership in physiotherapy (Desveaux et al, 2012;Desveaux and Verrier, 2014;Lopopolo, Schafer, and Nosse, 2004;McGowan, Martin, and Stokes, 2016;McGowan and Stokes, 2015b;Schafer, Lopopolo, and Luedtke-Hoffmann, 2007;Wylie and Gallagher, 2009). Previous survey studies report communication, professionalism, credibility, and an ethical approach as important leadership competencies for physiotherapists (Desveaux et al, 2012;Stokes, 2015a, 2017;Schafer, Lopopolo, and Luedtke-Hoffmann, 2007).…”

“…Similar to previous studies, the interviewees regarded professionalism as the backbone of their clinical practice (Desveaux et al, 2012;Desveaux and Verrier, 2014;Lopopolo, Schafer, and Nosse, 2004;McGowan, Martin, and Stokes, 2016;McGowan and Stokes, 2015a;Schafer, Lopopolo, and Luedtke-Hoffmann, 2007). This was tied to a need to demonstrate their knowledge and increase their credibility in their patients' eyes, but also to mitigate the risk of over-friendliness inherent to the nature of repeated meetings (Desveaux et al, 2012).…”

“…In addition to competencies, the Canadian and Irish studies also found that physiotherapists saw themselves as leaders irrespective of their workplace (Desveaux et al, 2012;Desveaux and Verrier, 2014;McGowan, Martin, and Stokes, 2016;Stokes, 2015a, 2017). The present study findings partly contrast with this finding.…”

“…Previous studies have listed leadership competencies that were perceived as important among physiotherapists in Canada, the United States of America, and Ireland (Desveaux et al, 2012;Desveaux and Verrier, 2014;Lopopolo, Schafer, and Nosse, 2004;McGowan, Martin, and Stokes, 2016;Stokes, 2015a, 2017;Schafer, Lopopolo, and Luedtke-Hoffmann, 2007). In the American study, all physiotherapists, regardless of whether they were working in the clinic or in management, or were newly trained, expressed that communication, professionalism, and an ethical approach are important leadership competencies (Lopopolo and Luedtke-Hoffman, 2007).…”