The research is a cross-sectional quantitative study. Data used for this study are part of an extended database; only part of the collected data is of interest for the present study. The study population is represented by employees of an academic hospital in the Netherlands. The respondents are leaders, respectively members, in teams at operational, tactical or strategical level.
The organisation and respondents
Data were collected from employees of a Dutch academic hospital having more than 1,000 beds and 10,000 employees. Respondents were either a team leader or member in a team whose leader was enrolled in the study. Data collected from leaders and team members at operational level are of interest for this study.
Data collection methods
Data were collected through a 111 item questionnaire which included both validated and non-validated scales. The questionnaire collected data on leadership styles, Leader-Member exchange, psychological safety, individual well-being, team reflexivity, team effectiveness, and respondents’ background. Of interest for this study are the questionnaire items on transactional leadership, transformational leadership, Leader-Member exchange, psychological safety, and respondents’ background. Except for respondents’ background, the answers were collected by the use of items extracted from validated scales; these answers were collected in form of 1 to 7 Likert scales (1 = “strongly agree”, 7 = “strongly disagree”). Data on respondents’ background were obtained using close-ended question or open-ended question framed to obtain answers represented by discrete values or 1 word.
Data on transactional leadership was collected using 5 items of Podsakoff, et al.’s (1990) scale. The items targeted behaviours such as providing feedback, acknowledging or not performance, and praising work that is better than the average (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, & Fetter, 1990). For data regarding transformational leadership, 12 items of the same scale were used. The items addressed behaviours like role modelling, encouraging teamwork, and openness to new opportunities (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, & Fetter, 1990). Information on LMX were collected by using 7 items of Graen & Uhl-Bien’s (1995) instrument. The items were aimed at dimensions of leader’s relationship with members (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). Data on psychological safety were collected using items from Edmonson’s (1999) instrument; items targeted behaviours related to team climate (Edmonson A., 1999). Respondents’ background consisted in items on gender, age, education, leadership position, number of team members (if applicable), specialisation (if applicable), years of working experience, and years of experience within organisatio
