Leadership: A Nursing Perspective

Abstract

The Task Force for Collaborative Nursing Education Models was a successful collaboration involving female nurse administrators. The nature of leadership in the Task Force was studied as part of a larger research project examining the process of collaboration that evolved over the 40 months of its existence (October 1987-February 1991). A retrospective qualitative case study approach was used. Data were collected from an analysis of documents that had been generated by the group, and from 36 semi-structured interviews with the 28 Task Force members. Findings and conclusions about leadership were validated during a final group interview with eight selected members. Findings of this study support the following contentions: women lead differently than men, and leadership is a collective process rather than a specialized role assumed by a single person who influences the work of other group members. Leadership was also found to rotate among group members according to the issue being considered and the expertise of those present. These findings did not support the positivist theories of leadership prevalent in current nursing management text books.