We studied a group of managers of the state medical institutions in the Krasnodar region and the city of Krasnodar, during their course of advanced training. The group included 86 people; average experience in management – 7,8 years. Gender distribution of the sample group represented the distribution among the professional population: 40,7 % of the respondents (35 persons) were men, 59,3 % (51 persons) – women. For the purpose of analyses, the results of the self-diagnostics were disaggregated in two subgroups: the first one consisted of top managers (head doctors and their deputies of clinical work, 32 people; further referred as group n1). The second group included 54 «line» managers – heads of departments (further referred as group n2).
Using the tapping test, we have revealed that 59,3 % (32 people) of the heads of clinical departments have a weak or medium-weak type of the nervous system. At the same time, only 37,5 % (12 people) of the top managers proved to have the same, i.e. the clinical managers of the medical institutions have predominantly the weak type of the nervous system; the data is statistically reliable (φ* = 1,97 р ≤ 0,02). Lability of the nervous system showed similar values: in group n1, 25,0 % of the respondents (8 people) had a highly labile nervous system, while in group n2, the instability was observed in 38,9 % of the respondents (φ* = 1,35 р ≤ 0,09, which can be regarded as a stable trend for this characteristic) [1].
An index of the integrative emotional intelligence reached 60,2 points in the sample group, which matches the average level of its intensity. There were revealed no differences between the groups of top and line managers (р > 0,05). The strongest skill of the observed health care managers was a self-motivation skill, i.e. an ability to control emotional condition voluntary and consciously. Diagnostic results reached a high level on the corresponding scale (in the whole sample group М = 14,6; in subgroups: n1: М = 14,3; n2: М = 14,8). The rest indices were average, i.e. between 8 and 13 points.
There were reported some tendencies that differentiated the analyzed subgroups. For instance, an ability to control own emotions, which is determined mainly by the type of individual neural-dynamic characteristics (for example, lability, power/weakness of the nervous system), bordered its low level (М = 7,4) among the line managers, and reached 10,6 points in the group of the top managers (t = 3,81 р < 0,001).
On the contrary, ability to sympathize and feel with others (scale «Empathy») was reliably better developed in the group of the department managers: 13,2 points on average, i.e. it nears the high level, as opposed to 9,5 points in group n1 (t = 4,53 р < 0,001).
Ability to perceive and influence emotions of the others tends (t = 1,70, i.e. р < 0,1) to prevail among the top managers, which proves that the chief doctors and their deputies are rather willing to communicate with people in emotionally stressful and difficult situations.
According to the results of the Blake-Mouton test, the majority of the top managers of medical institutions exercise the «Authority – compliance» management style (position 8.3 in the Managerial Grid), while the heads of departments prefer the «Team» management (position 8.6). The received diagnostic data could be interpreted as follows. The top managers of medical institutions feel high responsibility for their work, and thus focus, first of all, on achieving a positive final result when solving a task. The line managers regard it as important not only to do their job («high concern for work»), but also develop trustful relations with all the participants of treatment, which the manager controls as a process. In other words, they show much regard for their subordinates.
The correlation analysis revealed some invariant and specific connections between a number of the studied parameters. It was established that regardless of the manager’s level, high concern to work is positively correlated with high self-motivation and ability to perceive emotions of others; and is negatively correlated with a high index of empathy.
Factor «Concern for people» is connected with the empathy: in the group of the head doctors r = 0,423, and in the group of the department managers r = 0,478.
The following specific relationships could be distinguished in the subgroups of respondents.
1. Group n1. Scale «Control over own emotions» is positively correlated with high concern for work as a style characteristic of management (r = 0,378) and negatively correlated with factor «Concern for people» (r = –0,344). Scale «Perception of emotions of the others» is negatively correlated with factor «Concern for people» (r = –0,754).
2. Group n2. Higher attention to people is interdependent with the emotional awareness (r = 0,324), «self-motivation» (r = 0,283) and ability to perceive emotions of the others (r = 0,660).
Conclusions. The conducted analyses let distinguish a psychological aspect of the managerial competencies in the system of the health care institutions. It includes an invariant component, that describes a combination of abilities and professional leadership style, determined by the work specifics in the medical field. These are a medium-high integrative emotional intelligence [3]; well developed ability to control voluntary own emotional condition and emotions of the others; strong focus on success in work, which determines their high level of responsibility and being demanding on the staff [2].
Specific elements of the managerial competencies were determined for the both studied levels of managers. So, the top managers have a well developed ability to control emotions, caused by predominately strong and stable types of neurodynamic properties; moreover, the ability to control emotions is correlated with an exacting attitude and attention to work.
In the work of the heads of departments, one can find the following specific aspects of MC: well developed empathic abilities; combination of high concern for work and ability to organize the staff and pay attention to their needs.
There were also revealed the development goals. These are for the top-managers: empathic ability, skills of reflection on the own emotional conditions and experiences, emotional awareness; attention to personnel; for the line managers: skills of self-regulation of emotional conditions, ability to perceive and control emotions of the others for the work purposes.