A Study of Leadership and Organizational Maturity at Teaching Hospitals Affiliated with Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, 2004-2005

Although there are many factors that affect the performance of organizations, it is quite doubtless that leadership is one of the most important factors toward's organization success. Hospitals are among complicated organizations the success of which depends on leadership styles and effective management; there fore, it is necessary for hospital managers to be ware of leadership principles such as: leading employee and organization towards its main goals. This study is mainly aimed at assessing the leadership style and organizational maturity at the educational hospitals affiliated with Ardebil University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional descriptive study, was conducted in the second half of 2004. Employees working in Boali, Alavi and Fatemi hospitals took part in the survey. The sample population comprised of 288 employees. The data was collected using a self-constructed questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were determined by content validity and test- retest. Data analysis was carried out through SPSS, using Anova and Chi-square test. According to the findings the autocratic leadership has the most frequency rather than other styles (59.4%). The most frequency of organization maturity is related to Minimum maturity (49.8%). There was no significant statistical relationship between leadership styles and organizational maturity (p>0.05). Most of the top managers of hospitals use the autocratic leadership. Without considering the organizational maturity. Unfortunately it means that they simply ignore the ability and tendency of their personnel.