The anatomy of interprofessional leadership: An investigation of leadership behaviors in team‐based health care

Increasing specialization among health care professions has heightened the need for proficient interprofessional teamwork. Within the team context for practice, leadership becomes a competency expected of all practitioners who must recognize the necessity of situational leadership dependent on patient needs and the professional competencies to meet those needs. Although this need for leadership within interprofessional practice is recognized, the behavioral components of that leadership competency have not been delineated. In this article, the authors report on a study to identify the behavioral components of interprofessional practice and highlight the indicators of leadership competency in interprofessional patient‐centered care. This qualitative study involved in‐depth interviews with 24 participants from nine professions engaged in collaborative team care of clients or patients in a variety of community and acute‐based health care facilities. Interprofessional competencies were explored using grounded theory, with coding of participants' responses. In this article, the authors have highlighted leadership in interprofessional practice, and discussed the behavioral indicators of leadership that could be used in preparation of students, faculty, and practitioners for interprofessional practice, as well as in evaluation of that practice for purposes of professional growth.