An exploratory study on the ideal leader in nursing

To explore the ideal in nursing leadership in Hong Kong, this study adopted a qualitative approach with a purposive sample of nurses (N=28) working in various healthcare settings. Twenty ideal personal qualities extracted from the participants' comments were: optimism, critical thinking, hard work, vision, responsibility, thinking and acting proactively, assertiveness, caring, decisiveness, empathy, honesty, flexibility, self-sacrifice, bravery, reliability, fairness, intelligence, openness, popularity and practicality. Twenty-nine concepts of leadership roles were identified and then grouped into six main themes as follows: considering patient benefit, working with colleagues, managing effectively, working with other parties, enhancing professionalism, and inducing changes. After describing the above aspects of the study, this chapter closes with a discussion about enhancing the understanding of and executing nursing leadership in Chinese cultures.