Communication competency as a mediator in the self-leadership to job performance relationship

Background: Communication competency, self-leadership, a personal factor, is another important factor influencing organizational performance. Aim: This study identified the effects of self-leadership and communication competence on the job performance of general hospital nurses. Methods: Study participants were 211 nurses working in hospitals in Gyeonggi and Jeonbuk provinces, South Korea. Data were collected from October to December 2015 using a structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS Statistics 21. Findings: Self-leadership and communication competence positively correlated with nursing performance. Communication competency played a partial mediating role in the relationship between nurses' self-leadership and job performance. Discussion: There was a significant mediating effect of communication competence on the relationship between nurses' self-leadership and job performance. Conclusions: Management-level workers in general hospitals should have the necessary skills and strategies to develop nurses' communication competence and improve nurses' recognition of self-leadership to achieve high performance. (C) 2016 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.