Leadership style and organisational commitment among nursing staff in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Aims: To examine how nurse managers’ leadership styles, and nurses’ organisational commitment in Saudi Arabia relate. Background: Effective leadership is influential in staff retention; however, recruiting and maintaining nurses is an increasing problem in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Using a survey design, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire were distributed to a sample of 219 nurses and nurse managers from two hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Results: Transformational leadership was the most dominant leadership style. After controlling for the influence of manager/staff status, nationality and hospitals, transformational leadership was the strongest contributor to organisational commitment. Perceptions of both transformational and transactional leadership styles, increased with age for nurse managers and nursing staff. Conclusion: Introducing the Full Range of Leadership model to the Saudi nursing workforce could help to prepare Saudi nurses for positions as nurse managers and leaders. Implications for Nursing Management: The study provides insight into the type of leadership that is best suited to the dynamic and changing health care system in Saudi Arabia. It is possible that transformational leaders could influence and induce positive changes in nursing.