Implementing TQM in healthcare: The critical leadership traits

The provision of leadership by the senior management team in organisations is universally acclaimed by most quality management experts as critical to the successful implementation of total quality management (TQM). However, there is little empirical evidence as to the particular traits of leadership required for successfully leading a TQM programme apart from the all too common suggestion of the need to have top management commitment. Based on a survey of 50 chief executive officers randomly selected from the British National Health Care System, the paper delineates the essential leadership traits for the effective implementation of TQM in a healthcare environment.