How staff nurses perceive the impact of nurse managers™ leadership style in terms of job satisfaction: a mixed method study

Aim: To describe staff nurses’ perceptions related to the leadership styles adopted by their nurse managers, identify which leadership style ensured job satisfaction in staff nurses and describe which behaviours nurse managers should change. Background: Empirical literature suggests that leadership styles of nurse managers significantly influence staff satisfaction. However, few studies investigate how staff nurses perceive the leadership styles of their nurse managers, and how these impact upon the staff nurses’ job satisfaction. Methods: This was a mixed method study, which included the administration of the Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire and three focus groups. Results: Ward nurse managers mostly adopted a transactional leadership style (‘Management by exception active’) aimed at monitoring errors and intervening to correct errors and punish, which had a negative impact on staff nurses’ levels of job satisfaction. In contrast, the transformational leadership style, which is mostly correlated with satisfaction (‘Idealized Influence Attributed’, which staff nurses perceived as ‘respect’, ‘caring for others’, ‘professional development’ and ‘appreciation’), was rarely practiced by nurse managers. Conclusions: The transformational leadership skills of Italian nurse managers need to be improved through behaviours based on greater respect, caring for others, professional development and appreciation. The present study could also serve as model to improve the leadership style of nurse managers in other countries. Implications for nursing management: The themes of transformational leadership could serve as a guide for nurse managers to help them improve their leadership style, and improve the levels of job satisfaction in staff nurses. Owing to the complexity and the importance of this issue, classroom educational interventions would not be sufficient: it should be dealt as a strategic priority by nursing directors.