Abstract

NAICKER, V  and  HOQUE, M. Leadership effectiveness within the function of nursing management. JCMAN [online]. 2017, vol.14, n.1, pp.291-329. ISSN 1815-7440.

Nurses are often promoted into unit management posts as a result of extensive clinical experience and expertise in the field of nursing, but many lack the leadership skills necessary to be successful in this role. Once they are in a leadership position, there is no healthcare leadership competency model in place to identify and address areas of leadership weakness. This quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out on 33 unit managers from four private healthcare organisations in KwaZulu Natal, using the National Health Service 360-degree leadership competency assessment tool to determine areas of leadership strengths and areas that required development. The unit managers were required to rate their leadership competencies according to the nine leadership dimensions identified in the tool, which were inspiring a shared purpose, leading with care, evaluating information, connecting the service, sharing the vision, engaging the team, holding to account, developing capability and influencing for results. The findings revealed that only 66.7% of unit managers possessed a tertiary qualification in management. Although the unit managers rated their competencies positively across all nine dimensions, the areas that were rated poorly were the ability to share the organisation's vision, the ability to evaluate information, and the ability to maintain accountability. Three recommendations emerged from the findings, namely investment in leadership development, implementation of a leadership competency model, and a tertiary qualification in management as a prerequisite for a management post.

Keywords : competencies; leadership; leadership dimensions; unit managers.

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