Leadership in Nursing: Importance and Leadership Styles

Louise Petty

June 14, 2024

5 min read

Strong leadership in nursing is essential if you want to deliver care that’s safe, effective and in the best interests of both staff and patients. If you’re a manager or team leader in the nursing profession – or aspire to be in leadership position – then this article will help you understand what we mean by leadership, why good leadership skills are so important in nursing and give you some insight into the different types of leadership in nursing that you may wish to consider.

What is Leadership in Nursing?

In nursing, leadership isn’t just about the person at the top who has responsibility for managing a team of staff members. Whilst a leader is often found at a higher level, and therefore is well positioned to support their team, enhance productivity and keep on top of admin, they can also be found at all levels of nursing, such as team leaders and line managers.

Leadership in nursing is about effective people management, inspiring best practice and delivering an excellent standard of care for patients. It’s about acting as a role model for both staff and patients alike and truly listening to the ideas and concerns of both team members and patients, ensuring everyone is heard, valued and cared for.

A good leader is compassionate, approachable, honest and inclusive, but a great leader is also willing to adapt their leadership style and learn from the traits of the people they work with. Great leadership in nursing means advocating for patients, not being afraid to raise concerns, maintaining patient (and staff) satisfaction, listening well and setting the tone for a workplace where morale is high and diversity is valued.

Why is Leadership in Nursing Important?

Strong leadership in nursing brings many benefits to both your staff members and the patients that you care for. Amongst team members, good leadership will ensure:

Job satisfaction and staff retention rates remain high.
The quality of care staff delivers is the best it can be.
Workplace culture and morale is positive and psychologically safe for staff.
A diverse workforce with high inclusivity and high cultural intelligence.
A supportive environment where team members are encouraged to achieve.
Team members are treated as individuals and they are truly listened to.
Leaders and line managers are accessible for support at all times.

For patients, good leadership in nursing is important for ensuring:

Patients’ concerns and suggestions are listened to.
Patients have a voice when they need it most and are always spoken up for.
The cultural needs of patients are considered and valued.
The care a patient receives is tailored just for them.
Patients know who to speak to and can trust those who care for them.

Leadership Styles in Nursing

All leaders have different leadership styles and there’s no one-size-fits-all method. Instead, there are a variety of different leadership styles in nursing that you can pick and choose from – it may be that you fit neatly into one type or you may decide to select qualities from several types to create your perfect strategy.

A healthcare professional demonstrating leadership qualities

To choose your nursing leadership style, take a look at the seven key leadership styles listed below and see which ones resonate with your personality, your team and your workplace. Then, you can start putting the style into action and making adjustments where necessary.

Transformational Leadership in Nursing

A Transformational Leader is someone who empowers their team members to make their own decisions, solve their own problems and take initiative. Transformational leadership in nursing is about mentoring your staff to help them develop personally and professionally. Your role is to be inspiring and motivating to encourage critical thinking and a high-performing team.

Transformational leaders tend to suit workplaces where the team structure and morale is already strong and people know each other well.

Situational Leadership in Nursing

A Situational Leader is someone who adapts their style to the specific person, team or scenario they’re faced with. Situational leadership is about being flexible and analysing the current situation to determine the best course of action. Sometimes it might mean being more direct with team members, whilst on other occasions you may simply be there to motivate workers to make their own decisions.

Situational leaders tend to suit workplaces with lots of new or junior staff members, as each new worker is likely to have a different set of needs.

Autocratic Leadership in Nursing

An Autocratic Leader is someone who takes the lead and makes decisions on behalf of the team. This type of leader is usually very knowledgeable in their role and is confident that they can act in the best interests of people, without always needing to consult them first. Autocratic leadership requires the team to be very trusting of their leader, as it can sometimes create misunderstandings due to lack of communication.

Autocratic leaders tend to suit workplaces where important decisions are required quickly, such as in emergency situations or critical care nursing.

Democratic Leadership in Nursing

A Democratic leader is someone who values communication and transparency between all members of the team and looks to each person to voice their ideas, concerns and feedback. Democratic leadership is all about teamwork, and the leader won’t make decisions without input from their staff. Relationships are usually positive between a Democratic Leader and their team and, as a result, team members aren’t afraid to contribute because they know their opinion is valued and will be listened to.

Democratic leaders tend to suit high-reliability workplaces where it’s important that people work together towards a common goal due to the high-risk nature of the work, such as a hospital.

Transactional Leadership in Nursing

A Transactional Leader is someone who is very organised, is good at setting goals and who focuses on team efficiency. Transactional leadership is about implementing policies and procedures that increase performance and using the resources and people available to achieve a common goal. This type of leader is good at strategy and meeting deadlines and can quickly structure a team to ensure targets are met.

Transactional leaders tend to suit workplaces where deadlines are tight and it’s vital that people work together to ensure errors are reduced or eliminated.

Laissez-Faire Leadership in Nursing

A Laissez-Faire Leader is someone who leads with a very hands-off approach, providing little direction and minimal feedback to their team members. Laissez-faire leadership is about leaving the team to continue working in the way they feel is best, without much supervision, often because they are already performing well. With this type of leadership, staff have a high level of autonomy.

Laissez-faire leaders tend to suit workplaces where the team is experienced and is already very knowledgeable about their line of work, such as self-directed nurses.

Servant Leadership in Nursing

A Servant Leader is someone who focuses on developing the skills of each individual team member by setting individuals goals, motivating them and building strong relationships. In servant leadership, each team member is treated like an individual and given the time, care and resources they need to develop.

Servant leaders tend to suit workplaces where the team is very diverse and there are lots of individual needs, whether that’s because the team is made up of various different job roles or specialties, or because the team has people from many different countries or backgrounds.

Effective Leadership in Nursing

Effective leadership in nursing is about identifying your leadership style, as listed above, and then sticking to the plan you’ve chosen. Try not to change styles too often as this can be confusing for team members.

There are also some key skills that you can look to develop to ensure effective leadership in nursing. These are:

Emotional intelligence – such as displaying compassion and empathy for both staff members and patients. Emotional intelligence will help you to build trusting relationships, gain respect, encourage teamwork and manage differences.
Communication skills – being able to communicate well with people reduces the chances of misunderstandings, promotes active listening and helps the team work together more effectively. It can also help patients to better understand their care and outcomes.
Critical thinking – possessing good critical thinking skills will help you to analyse problems and decisions carefully and recgonise the impact the solutions will have on staff, patients and the organisation.
Resilience – resilience skills are vital in the healthcare industry as it can often be a very high-pressure environment. Resilience will help you to maintain a positive mindset, handle problems with ease and avoid regular stress or burnout.
Equality and diversity – in nursing, as with all professions, promoting equality and diversity amongst staff members and patients is essential for a welcoming, harmonious and inclusive environment where everyone feels safe to be.
Professional development – a good leader doesn’t remain static and strives to develop their skills and knowledge. This might be keeping up with the latest healthcare practices and legislation, but it could also mean making time for your own personal development.

Wellbeing and mental health – promoting and maintaining positive mental health is an important skill for leaders to have. Whilst it’s important to look after your own wellbeing, it’s just as important that you know how to look after the mental health of the people you work with.

healthcare professionals in a conference

Leadership in nursing is about creating an environment where staff members and patients feel supported, listened to and valued. A great leader is someone who has an identified leadership style that they use to motivate their team and ensure their patients receive the best care possible. All leaders in nursing are different and there’s not only one leadership style that works best; instead, choose the techniques that work for you and you’ll soon recognise why effective leadership in nursing is so important.

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