Positive Effects of Leadership on Nursing Practice

Nursing practice is influenced by the level of leadership a nurse is encouraged and permitted to exercise. In a leadership-oriented work environment, a nurse is empowered to make decisions within her staffing unit. She has a degree of autonomy. In a work environment structured around task-focused roles of nurses, a nurse's practice behaviors may naturally tend to be more task-focused. Health insurance policy changes can translate to shifts in nursing team structure that either foster or discourage leadership and the positive effects of leadership on nursing practice.

Increased levels of professionalism

• According to a 2005 study on nursing leadership, nurses with access to strong unit-level nursing leadership may have a greater sense of self-efficacy. In other words, a strong relationship between a staff nurse and a nurse manager who is a trusted leader can mean that staff nurses have more pride in their work because they feel responsible for the outcomes.

Increased job satisfaction

• According to the same study, "nurse managers with positive leadership styles, who develop, stimulate, and inspire followers to exceed their own self-interests for a higher purpose" naturally foster a work environment based on a series of interactions between leader and follower, which leads to self-satisfied staff rather than staff who are bored by carrying out the same tasks with weaker relationship bonds with their superiors.

Increased patient satisfaction

• Researchers who conducted this study also noted that patient satisfaction was higher on units where nurse managers used a style of positive leadership.

More patient-directed health outcomes

• Nurse managers whose staffs perceive their superiors as leaders rather than managers can act as transformational leaders. They can catalyze the emergence of a holistic perspective where nurse staff are empowered at all levels and can interact with patients on an intimate level.