Developing nursing leadership talent—Views from the NHS nursing leadership for south-east England

Abstract

Aim: This article explores the views of current nursing leaders in the National Health Service on the actions and resources that are required to develop and maintain nursing leadership talent. Background: Although there is considerable talent and expertise within the nursing leadership community, numerous unfilled vacancies and gaps have been identified in competence and capability, with a national analysis indicating that nearly a third of National Health Service director posts are filled by interim appointments or are vacant. Nursing director posts are amongst those vacant for the longest periods. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with NHS directors of nursing, chief nurses, directors of quality and their deputies in south-east England to explore the characteristics of their roles, development needs, barriers to applying for posts or staying in their posts, future talent identification, and support networks. Results: Nursing leadership roles are perceived as demanding, poorly remunerated, isolating, and representing a major increase in responsibility and career risk. Too much development is currently informal. Conclusions: Talent identification and support need to be timely, structured, experientially based, and focused on building resilience and confidence. Coaching, mentoring, and support networks are considered crucial. Implications: Nursing leadership talent needs to be formally identified, developed and supported within organisations and networks should be maintained to reduce professional isolation and counter negative perceptions.