Impact of leadership styles of women managers working in education and healthcare sectors on psychological vulnerability and spirituality

Abstract

The present study examines the leadership styles of women managers in the education and healthcare sectors, focusing on their impact on psychological vulnerability and spirituality. The participants of this study consist of 296 women working in leadership positions between 32 to 60 years from Mumbai, India, comprising 150 participants from English-medium educational institutions and 146 from healthcare settings. The participants were assessed by using Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Psychological Vulnerability Scale, and the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. The data were analyzed by Two-way analysis of variance and correlation. Women managers with transactional leadership style were found to be significantly higher on psychological vulnerability than the women managers with transformational leadership style (F (1, 292) = 8.78, p lt .05). The women managers in the healthcare sector were found to be significantly higher on psychological vulnerability than the women managers of the education sector (F (1, 292) = 5.37, p lt .05). However, no significant differences were found between transformational and transactional leadership styles on spirituality, among women managers of education and healthcare sectors. A significant negative correlation was found between psychological vulnerability and spirituality (r = - .12, p lt .05) among women managers of education and healthcare sectors. The findings of this study shows that there is an interplay between leadership practices, psychological vulnerability, and spirituality. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating spiritual principles into leadership approaches across education and healthcare sectors newline