A cross-sectional study of nurses' perspectives on the leadership styles of nursing managers

Background: The leadership style of nursing managers influences the quality of nursing care. In contrast, poor nursing methods have significant human and financial consequences. The purpose of this study was to determine nursing managers' leadership styles and assess relevant characteristics from the perspective of nurses.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 at Kermanshah Educational Hospitals in western Iran. We recruited 313 nurses using stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a demographic information checklist and the Persian Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Results: From the perspective of nurses, nursing managers utilized transformational leadership style quite frequently, transactional leadership style frequently, but not always, and passive/avoidant behavior leadership style occasionally. Nursing managers employed transactional leadership style more than others, as evidenced by the higher mean.Conclusion: According to the findings, transactional leadership is the most commonly used style in university hospitals, as opposed to other types. Given the critical role of leadership in addressing current and future difficulties, our findings highlight the urgent need to engage in leadership development in various sectors of healthcare.