title: The moderating effect of leadership on the relationship between personality and performance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine how personality and leadership influence efficiency in the nursing service environment.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Leadership and personality contribute to the success and failure of a unit. However, how they interact to influence performance is still understudied.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used matched pairs sample design to survey 135 head nurses and 1353 registered nurses on validated instruments of demographic characteristics, leadership styles and personality during June and July of 2014. Efficiency was calculated using Data Envelopment Analysis. Tobit regression was used for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High conscientiousness and low neuroticism were significantly associated with higher efficiency. Particularly, under the initiating structure leadership style, high conscientiousness, high extraversion, high agreeableness, high openness and low neuroticism were related to higher efficiency. Openness would improve efficiency under a low consideration leadership style.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most personality traits were related to higher efficiency under the initiating leadership style. Only openness would improve leaders' efficiency under a high initiating structure and a low consideration leadership style.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considering personality as one factor of selecting head nurses, selecting the right person can improve the fit between individuals and organisations, which in turn, improves job performance. Training head nurses to develop better leadership styles in nurses is another way to enhance efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Care Management and Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. syeh@faculty.nsysu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Chuan Jennifer
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Shu
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.|University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Shih-Hua Sarah
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Administration, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ying-Ying
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsueh-Chih
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Administration and Medical Informatics, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|Research Education and Epidemiology Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Herng-Chia
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Public Affairs, Health Management and Informatics and Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas T H
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000066477:Work Performance / Q000592:standards*
keywords: efficiency; leadership; performance; personality