The Relationship between Managerial Leadership Behaviors and Staff Nurse Retention

The purposes of this study were to describe perceptions of managerial leadership behaviors associated with staff nurse turnover and to compare nurse manager leadership behaviors as perceived by managers and their staff nurses. Effective leadership styles among nurse managers have been associated with staff nurse job satisfaction and retention. Although both transformational and transactional leadership styles have been described as effective, it is unclear which nurse manager leadership behaviors contribute most to staff nurse retention. This descriptive, correlational study was conducted at a 465-bed community hospital in the northeastern United States. All staff nurses and nurse managers employed in both ambulatory and acute care nursing units were invited to participate in the study. The study sample comprised 79 staff nurses and 10 nurse managers, who completed demographic forms and the 45-item Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, which measures 12 dimensions of leadership style. Data were collected from July through September 2003. Active management by exception as perceived by staff nurses was the only managerial leadership style associated with staff nurse turnover (r = .26, p = .03). Compared with the perceptions among their staff nurses, nurse managers consistently perceived that they demonstrated a higher mean frequency of transformational leadership behaviors. The transactional leadership style of active management by exception not only appeared to be a deterrent to staff nurse retention but also reflected leadership perceptions among staff nurses who work evening and night shifts. This study also provides further evidence regarding a trend in which nurse managers and staff nurses do not concur on the frequency of transformational leadership behaviors but do demonstrate agreement on the frequency of transactional leadership behaviors.