Perceived Nurse Manager's Leadership Styles and Performance Among Staff Nurses in a Hospital in Zamboanga Del Sur

Abstract

This study looked at how staff nurses' performance in a government hospital in Zamboanga del Sur, the Philippines, related to how nurse managers were perceived to lead. The study used a descriptive quantitative correlational design, enumerated 183 staff nurses, and collected data using Schwirian's Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6-DSNP) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The findings showed that while laissez-faire leadership was the least observed style, transformational leadership was the most commonly perceived, followed by transactional. With the lowest scores in leadership and the highest in critical care and professional development, staff nurses performed well in all six areas. Five performance areas—leadership, critical care, teaching/collaboration, interpersonal relationships, and professional development—were significantly positively correlated with transformational leadership, according to Pearson correlation analysis (p < 0.05). No clear relationships existed between nurse performance and either transactional or laissez-faire leadership approaches. The findings underscore the essential function of transformational leadership in enhancing nursing performance and the imperative for leadership development programs to cultivate transformational behaviors in nurse managers. In resource-constrained healthcare environments, fortifying these leadership skills may improve collaboration, job happiness, and ultimately the quality of patient care.