The relationship between the political skills and negotiation behaviors of front-line nursing managers

Frontline nursing managers must possess sufficient political skills to successfully navigate organizational structures and relationships and produce positive results in complex healthcare systems.

This study explores the relationship between the political skills and negotiation behaviors of frontline nursing managers.

The researchers adopted a quantitative correlational methodology to conduct the study in two selected hospitals with 100 frontline nursing managers determined through convenience sampling. Political Skill Inventory and Negotiation Self-Assessment Inventory were used to assess the political skills of nurse managers and measure the behaviors that they rely on most readily during negotiations, respectively.

The study sample had an average level of political skill and relied moderately on compromise during negotiations. There was a strong positive correlation between political skills, accommodation, and collaboration behaviors. Moreover, there was a strong negative correlation between political skills, avoidance, and competition. Further, there was a negative correlation between political skills and compromise behavior of negotiation.

Although nursing managers used different negotiation behaviors at different degrees in different situations, they mostly relied on compromise during negotiation. Therefore, hospital administrators should work on improving frontline nursing managers' political skills to improve their negotiation behaviors.