Impact of empowering leadership on emotional exhaustion: A controlled interventional study in a large French university hospital complex

Aim The aim of this study is to assess the effect of a systemic intervention on the evolution of empowering leadership and emotional exhaustion in a university hospital sub‐centre compared to a control sub‐centre, both being part of a large French university hospital complex. Background Empowering leadership is a promising strategy for developing hospital team engagement and performance. However, the bureaucratic functioning of large hospitals, characterized by a managerial culture of control and a stratified organization, can be a barrier to empowering leadership. Methods The intervention included empowering leadership training, direct field experimentation of empowering leadership and coaching, involving all the sub‐centre hierarchical levels for 12 months. Data were collected before and after the intervention. A total of 441 and 310 participants were, respectively, included in the intervention and control sub‐centres. Results Empowering leadership was decreased, and emotional exhaustion was increased in the control sub‐centre, while the scores remained stable in the intervention sub‐centre. The increased emotional exhaustion in the control sub‐centre could partially be explained by the change in empowering leadership. Conclusion In a context of decreased empowering leadership and increased emotional exhaustion, the intervention had a protective effect. Implications for the design of future interventions were discussed. Implications for Nursing Management This study unequivocally showed the benefit of transforming hospital management towards empowering leadership, to prevent increased emotional exhaustion. Registration number This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov on 4 July 2019 (NCT04010773).