Knowing, relating and the absence of conflict: relational leadership processes between hospital boards and chairs of nurse councils

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to enhance understanding of the collaboration between chairs of nurse councils (CNCs) and members of executive hospital boards (BM) from a relational leadership perspective. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a qualitative and interpretive methodology. The authors study the daily interactions of BM and CNCs of seven Dutch hospitals through a relational leadership lens. The authors used a combination of observations, interviews and document analysis. The author’s qualitative analysis was used to grasp the process of collaborating between BM and CNCs. Findings Knowing each other, relating with and relating to are distinct but intertwined processes that influence the collaboration between BM and CNC. The absence of conflict is also regarded as a finding in this paper. Combined together, they show the importance of a relational process perspective to understand the complexity of collaboration in hospitals. Originality/value Collaboration between professional groups in hospitals is becoming more important due to increasing interdependence. This is a consequence of the complexity in organizing qualitative care. Nevertheless, research on the process of collaborating between nurse councils (NCs) and executive hospital boards is scarce. Furthermore, the understanding of the workings of boards, in general, is limited. The relational process perspective and the combination of observations, interviewing and document analysis proved valuable in this study and is underrepresented in leadership research. This process perspective is a valuable addition to skills- and competencies-focused leadership literature.

Leadership moments: Understanding nurse clinician‐scientists' leadership as embedded sociohistorical practices

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“…Using multiple (qualitative) methods, we analyze how NCSs' leadership evolves while they work. Becoming empowered and showing agency is part of their daily work, full of personal struggles, hidden and visible actions, and dynamic interactions (Carroll et al, 2015; De Kok et al, 2022; Larsson & Lundholm, 2010; Verhoeven et al, 2022).…”

Understanding rebel nurse leadership‐as‐practice: Challenging and changing the status quo in hospitals

“…In our view, this conflict is connected to rebel nurse leadership practices, because nurses experience internal conflicts that stimulate rebel leadership behavior. In contrast, research has also shown that discussing conflicting perspectives supports collaboration and the building of collective leadership in complex practices (Follet, 2011; Streeton et al, 2021; Uhl‐Bien et al, 2020; Verhoeven et al, 2022). We noticed that speaking up and discussing conflicting perspectives and dilemmas in daily practice helped nurses and nurse managers find a collaborative perspective.…”

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“…Although the importance of talk has been acknowledged for frontline nursing work (Barcelona et al, 2023;Dahlke & Hunter, 2020;Lopez-Deflory et al, 2023b;Marey-Sarwan et al, 2022) it seems overlooked in the nursing leadership and governance literature (see Cummings et al, 2021;Kanninen et al, 2021). However, Verhoeven et al (2023) showed that such a discursive leadership perspective can be supportive for comprehending the relational processes and interdependencies between board members and nurses. Therefore, in our study, we focus on such discursive, relational leadership practices (Barge, 2012;Uhl-Bien, 2006) and aim to uncover how these influence the positioning and voicing of nurses, in times of crisis, when interdependency is high (De Graaff et al, 2021).…”