Servant leadership in nursing: a framework for developing sustainable research capacity in nursing

In the current professional climate, research activities are highly valued with nurses in all sectors actively encouraged to participate. However, working environments for many nurses are such that it can be difficult to privilege research activities in any sustained way. A number of organisational challenges coalesce to impede participation in research activities, including limited resources, lack of skills, knowledge and opportunities, and a culture of individualism. Strong, effective research leadership is essential to help mediate some of these negative aspects of organisational life, and promote creative environments to facilitate the development of research capacity. Servant leadership is a service-oriented approach that focuses on valuing and developing people, and offers a participatory and collaborative framework within which to build creative and productive research communities. Such communities can encourage connectedness between people, deepen the capacity for supportive collegiality, and foster a holistic social learning milieu to support researchers of all levels, including early career researchers and research higher degree candidates.