THE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP STYLE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN HOSPITALS: A LITERATURE REVIEW (2004-2024)

Abstract

Leadership style is a critical factor influencing employee performance in healthcare organizations, especially hospitals where teamwork, safety, and service quality determine success. This paper explores how transformational, transactional, and servant leadership affect employee performance in hospital environments. Using a synthesis of peer-reviewed studies from 2004 to 2024, the discussion reveals that transformational leadership improves motivation, creativity, and commitment, servant leadership fosters trust and psychological empowerment, and transactional leadership maintains discipline and procedural compliance. The findings emphasize that leadership styles interact to produce an optimal balance between humanistic motivation and operational control. Hospitals adopting transformational and servant leadership principles tend to achieve higher employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity, leading to better patient outcomes and sustainable performance.