ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a study which examined the impact of the leadership behaviour of an executive management team in a UK National Health Service Acute Foundation Trust on Quality and Safety (Q&S) outcomes. Q&S is a key element in maintaining services and developing a safety culture where change can remove or dislodge the appropriate management style. The types of leadership behaviour that can influence change and effectively manage Q&S and an emerging safety culture in these circumstances are critical. The aim of the study was to provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between leadership behaviour and quality and safety. The change process undertaken to achieve targets and to attempt to give clear roles may mask safety culture as it gets lost in the complexity of behaviours, roles and structures of the organisation. The most inappropriate style of management for executives was dictatorial bullying.
