Leadership Styles Among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Within the Full Range Leadership Framework

Background/Objective: Leadership in nursing has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct influencing organisational functioning and professional practice. Within the Full Range Leadership Model, leadership comprises transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant dimensions that may coexist within individuals. This study aimed to examine how leadership dimensions coexist and interact among nurses and to explore their associations with professional characteristics within the FRLM framework. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted between November and December 2024 among 141 Portuguese nurses affiliated with a professional association dedicated to nursing leadership. Leadership behaviours were assessed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. A non-probability convenience sampling strategy was used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: Transformational leadership emerged as the predominant behavioural pattern (M = 3.17, SD = 0.38), followed by transactional leadership (M = 2.51, SD = 0.46), with minimal laissez-faire behaviours (M = 0.83, SD = 0.50). Managers demonstrated significantly higher transformational scores (mean difference = 0.16, p = 0.018) and lower laissez-faire scores (mean difference = -0.27, p = 0.01) than specialists. Transformational leadership was positively correlated with transactional leadership (r = 0.309, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with laissez-faire behaviours (r = -0.339, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The findings indicate a predominant transformational leadership profile among nurses, accompanied by complementary transactional behaviours and low passive-avoidant tendencies. The observed correlations support a dimensional interpretation of leadership consistent with the Full Range Leadership Model. These findings provide descriptive insight into leadership patterns within this nursing sample and may inform leadership development initiatives in comparable healthcare contexts.