Authentic leadership in nurses' professional practice: an integrative review

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Leadership Studies
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Authentic leadership is increasingly recognized for its potential to influence healthcare professionals.
• Understanding its core components and impact on nursing practice is crucial for improving healthcare delivery.

Approach:

• An integrative literature review was conducted.
• Searches covered LILACS, SciELO, and PubMed databases from 2015 to 2020.
• Thirty-one studies were analyzed.

Key Points:

• Most research originated from the United States, Canada, and Brazil.
• Quantitative methods dominated, though evidence quality was often weak.
• Key themes included work engagement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, healthy work environments, and reduced intention to quit and mental exhaustion.

Conclusions:

• Authentic leadership positively influences nursing management and care.
• It cultivates healthier work environments, structural empowerment, and increased work engagement.
• It also enhances organizational commitment while decreasing absenteeism and mental exhaustion.