Enactment of compassionate leadership by nursing and midwifery managers: results from an international online survey
Journal
BMJ Leader
Date Issued
September 2021
Author(s)
DOI
10.1136/leader-2020-000385
Abstract
Aim To explore the views of an international sample of
nursing and midwifery managers concerning attributes
that they associate with compassionate management.
Method A cross-sectional online survey. Using a
snowballing sampling method, 1217 responses were
collected from nursing and midwifery managers in 17
countries. A total of complete 933 responses to a question
related to which actions and behaviours indicated that
a manager was exercising compassionate leadership
were analysed for this paper. First, content analysis of the
responses was conducted, and second, a relative distribution
of the identified themes for the overall sample and for each
participating country was calculated.
Results Six main themes were identified describing
the attributes of a compassionate leader: (1) Virtuous
support, (2) Communication, (3) Personal virtues of the
manager, (4) Participatory communication, (5) Growth/
flourishing/ nurturing and (6) Team cohesion. The first
three themes mentioned above collectively accounted
for 63% of the responses, and can therefore be
considered to be the most important characteristics of
compassionate management behaviour.
Conclusion The key indicators of compassionate
management in nursing and midwifery which were identified
emphasise approachability, active and sensitive listening,
sympathetic responses to staff members’ difficulties
(especially concerning child and other caring responsibilities),
active support of and advocacy for the staff team and active
problem solving and conflict resolution. While there were
differences between the countries’ views on compassionate
healthcare management, some themes were widely
represented among different countries’ responses, which
suggest key indicators of compassionate management that
apply across cultures.
nursing and midwifery managers concerning attributes
that they associate with compassionate management.
Method A cross-sectional online survey. Using a
snowballing sampling method, 1217 responses were
collected from nursing and midwifery managers in 17
countries. A total of complete 933 responses to a question
related to which actions and behaviours indicated that
a manager was exercising compassionate leadership
were analysed for this paper. First, content analysis of the
responses was conducted, and second, a relative distribution
of the identified themes for the overall sample and for each
participating country was calculated.
Results Six main themes were identified describing
the attributes of a compassionate leader: (1) Virtuous
support, (2) Communication, (3) Personal virtues of the
manager, (4) Participatory communication, (5) Growth/
flourishing/ nurturing and (6) Team cohesion. The first
three themes mentioned above collectively accounted
for 63% of the responses, and can therefore be
considered to be the most important characteristics of
compassionate management behaviour.
Conclusion The key indicators of compassionate
management in nursing and midwifery which were identified
emphasise approachability, active and sensitive listening,
sympathetic responses to staff members’ difficulties
(especially concerning child and other caring responsibilities),
active support of and advocacy for the staff team and active
problem solving and conflict resolution. While there were
differences between the countries’ views on compassionate
healthcare management, some themes were widely
represented among different countries’ responses, which
suggest key indicators of compassionate management that
apply across cultures.