Transformational leadership has been linked to improved organizational performance and has been recognized as a possible solution to the challenges in Health Care. The role of Nurse Executives (NE) has become an influential leadership position in Health Care Organizations (HCO) and a factor in improving HCO. The purpose of this research was to explore self-reported leadership practices of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Medical Center NEs, examine leadership strengths of the NEs, and report professional development needs of the NEs. The study population consisted of NEs employed in the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC’s) throughout the United States. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Self-assessment by Kouzes and Posner (2001) was the survey instrument. A letter eliciting participation and a web page address containing the LPI was emailed to the NEs. The survey was completed via the web and submitted electronically. Seventy-seven (55%) of the NEs participated in the study. The results indicate the VHA NEs in this study are using transformational leadership practices regularly. Self-reported leadership practices of this population of NEs indicate that they are engaged in the five leadership practices of challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. The NE strengths are enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. They scored slightly lower in challenging the process and inspiring a shared vision. The self-reported LPI scores of the NE in this study were statistically significantly higher than the leaders in Kouzes and Posner’s research (2002b). The NEs were asked to identify the five most essential leadership skills of exemplary NE. The results indicate professional development for NE should include: transformational leadership skills, financial skills, organization skills, and personnel management skills. Incorporating these skills into a professional development program for NE could be a starting point to improving organizational performance of HCOs. The results of this research provide insight into current NE leadership practices and the professional development needs of NEs, which may lead to the development of a model for professional leadership training for NEs.

This study examines the relationship between principal leadership practices and teacher morale. A sample of ten public secondary schools, with a total of 664 teachers and ten principals, participated in this study. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)(Kouzes and Posner, 2002) was used to gather information regarding the principals' leadership behaviors. Teacher morale was measured by using the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (PTO)(Bentley & Rempel, 1968). The PTO provides a total score as a single measure of the general level of teacher morale while also providing ten subscale scores on different dimensions of teacher morale. Demographic data was gathered through the Tennessee State Department of Education website and through personal interviews with school officials. Research questions explored teachers' overall level of morale, self-perceived and observer-perceived leadership practices of the principal, differences in teacher morale between less experienced and more experienced teachers, the specific leadership behaviors affecting teacher morale, and organizational and structural dimensions of each school that may impact teacher morale. Results showed that teachers who participated in this study exhibited a moderately high degree of teacher morale. The principals who took part in this study exhibited a higher rating in self-perceived leadership practices than the level found in existing research. Principals in this study also indicated that they engaged in the identified leadership practices more frequently than their teachers' perceptions of their behavior. There were significant differences between teachers with five or fewer years of teaching experience and those with more than five years experience. In measuring the relationship between leadership practices and teacher morale, a positive correlation was revealed pertaining to each of the five factors. In the analysis of school demographic characteristics and teacher morale, it was revealed that there was a relatively strong, positive relationship between teacher morale and Act scores as well as student matriculation to college. Recommendations for future research are presented.

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