Symphony of Success: Leader-Practitioner Reciprocity during Evidence-Based Practice Implementation

Abstract This study aimed to explore the reciprocal relationships between implementation leadership and practitioner implementation citizenship behavior during the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Data were collected at two timepoints with a time lag of six months during a national implementation of evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in Norwegian mental health clinics. Data from 72 leaders and 346 practitioners were analyzed with a two-wave cross-lagged panel model, accounting for the nested structure and adjusting for demographic variables. Significant positive autoregressive effects for both implementation leadership and implementation citizenship behavior indicated some stability in ratings across time. Significant cross-lagged effects in both directions indicated that practitioners who experienced greater implementation leadership from their leaders demonstrated greater implementation citizenship behavior six months later, and vice versa. Findings hence supported both the social exchange hypothesis and the followership hypothesis, suggesting reciprocal associations between the constructs. The findings underscore the mutually influential relationship between leaders’ behavior and practitioners’ engagement in citizenship behavior during EBP implementation. The study emphasizes the importance of interventions focusing on leadership behaviors that encourage practitioner engagement and mutually beneficial behavior patterns, highlighting the reciprocal and vital roles that both leaders and practitioners play in successful EBP implementation.