Leadership, defined: What's your style, and how's it actually perceived?

healthcare environment, including policy reform, nursing shortages, and increased demands on an overly taxed system, require effective leadership. As you know, your individual leadership style impacts the work environment, affecting everything from the development of professional practice to staff engagement, and, ultimately, job satisfaction.1,2 So, what makes an ideal leader in today’s world of nursing? This qualitative study uncovers perceptions by midlevel managers and frontline nurses on what traits and actions define successful and unsuccessful leaders. The findings provide the basis for new strategies for optimization of leadership styles—including the transformational leadership style—and how these strategies can yield a positive impact on the work environment and staff engagement.