A Short Course in Leadership Skills for the Rehabilitation Team.

Rehabilitation programs rely on interdisciplinary teams of professionals and paraprofessionals to provide effective services. Teams that work well together provide better quality services to their clientele (Corrigan & Giffort, 1998; Corrigan & McCracken, 1997, 1999). Also, members are able to form a more cohesive team when they are led by a competent leader (Dyer, 1995). Skills that help leaders manage their teams will ultimately improve the quality of rehabilitation programs.

Experts in management and organizational psychology have developed several paradigms for effective leadership that are relevant to the rehabilitation team. Bass (1990, 1997) identified two sets of especially important skills related to transformational and transactional leadership.

Transformational leaders help team members view their work from more elevated perspectives and develop innovative ways to deal with work-related problems. Skills for transformational leadership include inspiration, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, participative decision making, and elective delegation.

Rehabilitation teams must not only develop creative and innovative programs, they must maintain them over time as a series of leader-team member transactions. Transactional leadership skills include goal-setting, feedback, and reinforcement strategies. These positive skills are contrasted to relatively ineffective approaches like laissez faire leadership where managers remain aloof and uninvolved with their staff.

Recent factor analytic research suggests that Bass' paradigm is applicable to the operation of rehabilitation programs (Corrigan, Garman, Lam, & Leary, 1998; Corrigan, Garman, Canar, & Lam, in press). Hence, this paradigm was used to develop a leadership training program for rehabilitation teams (Corrigan & Garman, in press; Corrigan, Garman, & Lickey, 1998(1)). The original curriculum, summarized in Table 1, required 90 minutes per week for twelve weeks to complete. Learning activities included didactic lecture, role plays, and problem solving about barriers to leadership skills. The original program also included leadership skills for the culturally diverse team.

Table 1. Curriculum in the "Leadership Training for the Rehabilitation Team" Program.

OVERALL GOALS OF THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE

(*) TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
(*) - Inspiration and charisma
(*) - Intellectual stimulation
(*) - Individual consideration
(*) - Relevant skills
(*)    Mission statements
(*)    Problem statements
(*)    Evaluation projects
(*)    Participative decision making
(*)    Elective delegation

(*) TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
(*) - Overall principles
(*) - Relevant skills
(*)    Goal setting
(*)    Self management
(*)    Tracking behaviors

    DIVERSITY

    - Overall principles
    - Conflict resolution

Note. Starred items (*) were also included in the leadership short course.

Unfortunately, results of a process analysis of the twelve-week program found general dissatisfaction with the time demands of the curriculum leading to the conclusion that twelve weeks was excessive. Hence, a short form of the course was developed that could be delivered in an eight-hour day. The shortened curriculum included sections on transformational and transactional leadership and exercises were sharply curtailed to meet the eight-hour time demand. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of completing the short course on participants.

Method

Twenty-seven leaders of rehabilitation teams were solicited to participate in the daylong leadership skills training program and corresponding program evaluation. Participants were team leaders rather than agency administrators. They included managers of local Department of Vocational Rehabilitation offices, coordinators of case management teams, and leaders of supported employment groups. Thirteen were recruited from the state office of rehabilitation services and 14 at a national conference on rehabilitation; hence, there were two cohorts.

The sample was, on average, 45.2 years old (SD=9.9); 51.9% female; and, in terms of ethnic group, 70.4% European American, 22.2% African American, and 7.4% Latino. Participants had worked in rehabilitation, on average, for 11.0 years (SD=10.3) and with their current team for 10.2 years (SD=6.7). 37.0% of participants had earned bachelor's degrees, 51.9% master's degrees, 7.4% doctoral degrees, and 3.7% other. In terms of work settings, 46.2% of participants worked in urban areas, 23.1% in suburbs, and 30.8% in rural offices. No differences (p [is less than] .10) were found in dependent measures across these indices.

Leaders participated in the eight-hour leadership course outlined in Table 1. They were administered the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) prior to beginning the course and immediately upon completion. The MLQ comprises 44 items representing leadership skills. Participants were instructed to rate items according to their perceptions of the ideal leader (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Items were rated on a five-point frequency Scale (1=frequently if not always, 5=not at all).

The MLQ has been widely investigated and shown to have excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Results of factor analyses have shown the test yields eight reliable factors that comprise transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and nonleadership. Four factor scales represent transformational leadership: (1) charisma (followers identify with and trust these leaders and view their mission as attainable); (2) inspiration (overlaps with charisma; leaders provide symbols and emotional appeal to increase awareness of desired goals); (3) intellectual stimulation (followers are encouraged to question old ways of doing things); and (4) individualized consideration (followers are treated differently but equitably). Three scales comprise transactional leadership: (1) contingent reward (leaders provide appropriate rewards when followers meet agreed-upon objectives); (2) active management-by-exception (leaders are vigilant to team member mistakes and correct them when they occur); and (3) passive management-by-exception (leaders only intervene after things become obviously wrong). The nonleadership factor is called Laissez Faire (individuals actively avoid any activities or responsibilities related to leadership).

All leaders participating in the study completed the course as well as pretest and post-test MLQs.

Results

Mean and standard deviations of MLQ scores provided by participants prior to and after the course are summarized in Table 2. The result of a repeated measures MANOVA for the eight MLQ scores was significant showing significant improvement from pre-to post-test (F(8, 19)=5.02, p [is less than] .005). Table 2 also lists the results of post hoc repeated measures ANOVAs for the individual MLQ scores. Results show significant improvement in two scales: individualized consideration and active management by exception. These changes met the Bonferroni criterion for significant change (.05/8 tests =.006).

Table 2. Pre and Post-test Differences in MultiFactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Scores

                           Pre-Test     Post-Test

MLQ Variable                 M     SD    M     SD

Charisma                   20.1   6.4   21.3   8.0
Inspiration                 6.4   2.7    6.4   2.5
Intellectual Stimulation    6.4   2.2    6.9   2.1
Individual Consideration    5.2   1.7    6.2   2.2
Contingent Reward          11.6   4.4   10.5   4.1
Active Manage by Except     9.4   3.0   11.2   3.3
Passive Manage by Except   16.4   3.2   16.9   2.4
Laissez Faire              15.9   2.7   16.1   2.3

MLQ Variable               Differences?

Charisma                   F(1,26) = 1.08, n.s.
Inspiration                F(1,26) = 0.01, n.s.
Intellectual Stimulation   F(1,26) = 0.28, n.s.
Individual Consideration   F(1,26) = 6.75, p<.01
Contingent Reward          F(1,26) = 2.02, n.s.
Active Manage by Except    F(1,26) = 6.57, p<.01
Passive Manage by Except   F(1,26) = 0.84, n.s.
Laissez Faire              F(1,26) = 0.17, n.s.

Discussion

Results from this study showed that participation in a brief course on leadership skills for the rehabilitation team could lead to significant improvements in participant's perceptions of ideal leadership. In particular, team leaders enhanced their perceptions about the importance of individualized consideration; i.e., leaders were more sensitive to the importance of attending to the unique interests of team members. Leaders supervise team members differently but equitably. Results also showed a significant improvement in active management-by-exception. Leaders recognize the importance of remaining vigilant to team member mistakes and correcting them when they occur.

One of the important findings of this study is that approaches towards leadership can be improved after a short course in appropriate skills. Future research needs to determine whether these gains hold up in replicated samples. Moreover, research needs to determine whether changes in MLQ scores correspond with improvements in actual leadership. Moreover, does change in leadership lead to improved performance of individual team members or of the team as a whole? Finally, does improved team functioning lead to better rehabilitation programs for consumers of services? Research in this area suggests that team work and leadership are necessary ingredients in improving rehabilitation services.

Authors' Notes

This project was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education. We would like to thank the trainers of the Illinois Staff Training Institute at the University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation for conducting the leadership training program.

(1) Contact the first author if you wish to purchase the curriculum.

References

Bass, B.M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, 19-31.

Bass, B.M. (1997). Transformational leadership: Industrial, military, and educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bass, B.M., & Avolio, B.J. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. Public Administration Quarterly, 17, 112-121.

Corrigan, P.W., & Garman, A.N. (in press). Leadership skills for mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation teams. Community Mental Health Journal.

Corrigan, P.W., Garman, A.N., Canar, J., & Lam, C. (in press). Characteristics of rehabilitation team leaders: A validation study. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin.

Corrigan, P.W., Garman, A.N., Lam, C., & Leary, M. (in press). What mental health teams want in their leaders. Administration and Policy in Mental Health.

Corrigan, P.W., Garman, A.N., & Lickey, S.E. (1998). Leadership training for the rehabilitation team. Tinley Park, IL: University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Corrigan, P.W., & Giffort, D.W. (Eds.) (1998). Building teams and programs for effective rehabilitation. New Directions in Mental Health Services, 79.

Corrigan, P.W., & McCracken, S.G. (1997). Interactive staff training: Rehabilitation teams that work. New York: Plenum Press.

Corrigan, P.W., & McCracken, S.G. (1999). Training teams to deliver better psychiatric rehabilitation programs. Psychiatric Services, 50, 43-45.

Dyer, W.G. (1995). Team building: Current issues and new alternatives (3rd ed.). Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Patrick W. Corrigan, 7230 Arbor Drive, Tinley Park, IL 60477. Email: [e-mail]

Patrick W. Corrigan Sarah E. Lickey John Campion Fadwa Rashid University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation