4.5.2 Factors influencing leadership in nursing: The experience of nurse directors in the NHS (21)
Roula Alio, PhD Student, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College, London, United Kingdom Co authors: Joanne Fitzpatrick- & Ian Norman roula.alio@kcl.ac.uk
Abstract:
In spite of the emphasis on nursing leadership in policy documents, there has been little attention to the concept by researchers particularly since the 1990s. Research on leadership in nursing has been scarce with a predominant focus on clinical leadership and there are no known studies which have investigated the process of nurse leadership development and leadership style.
The present study addressed this important gap in the literature by examining what influences nurse directors in the NHS to adopt different leadership styles. In particular, it: identified the leadership style of nurse leaders and measured the relationship between leadership style and personal and work related variables (i.e. personality type, organisational culture, demographic variables, and key people and experiences).
The study adopted a two-phase multi method design:
- Phase 1 - Involved a national postal questionnaire survey of the total population of Nurse Directors in NHS Acute Hospital Trusts in England.
- Phase 2 - Involved telephone interviews with 44 Nurse Directors. Nurse leaders were predominantly transformational (M=3.3, SD=.32) and servant (M=5.8, SD=.41) in their leadership.
Personality combined with perceptions of the organisational culture explained 32% of variance in transformational leadership, 30% of variance in connective leadership, while 34% of variance in servant leadership was explained by personality and years of experience in nursing. Interviews with nurse leaders highlighted influences on the development of leadership style–in particular powerful role models during their early career as well as being exposed to negative experiences such as bullying.
The study raises important implication for the selection and development of nurse leaders in that the would-be leaders with high scores on extroversion and conscientiousness are more likely to emerge as transformational and servant leaders, but only in organisational cultures that foster innovation, support, and recognition rather than those that focus on irregularities and deviation from standards.
Source of Funding: Non UK
Level of Funding: 1,000 - 10,000
Biography:
I finished my BSc degree in nursing in 1998 in Syria and then I was appointed as lecturer assistant mainly in nursing management and mental nursing for two years. Because of my outstanding academic achievements during college I was awarded a combined scholarship from the Syrian Ministry of Higher Education and the British Council to do my postgraduate studies in London. First I did my MSc in Health Service Management at Imperial College London and now I am in my final year of PhD at King’s College London. When I finish my PhD and return to Syria, I will be appointed as a lecturer in the nursing school- department of nursing management and leadership and I am privileged to mention that I will be the first nurse with a PhD in the whole country aged 31.