The impact of transformational leadership characteristics of nurse managers on the anticipated turnover of RN staff nurses

This study is a non-experimental, cross-sectional national survey that examined the relationship between transformational leadership characteristics of nurse managers and anticipated turnover of RN staff nurses. This study examined the role the nurse manager plays in influencing the anticipated turnover of the staff nurse. Fifteen hundred surveys were sent out to nurses across the country from a national mailing list obtained from the American Nurses Association. A total of 344 nurses responded, of whom 180 were RN staff nurses in the final sample. The assessments consisted of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X and the Hinshaw and Atwood Anticipated Turnover Scale. The conceptual framework for leadership was based on the transformational leadership model of Bass (1987) and Burns (1978). Mobley's (1982) basic model of turnover served as the conceptual framework for turnover. Correlation and regression analyses were the primary statistical techniques employed to examine the relationship between transformational leadership scores of the nurse managers and RN staff nurses' intent to leave their job.; A moderate inverse but highly statistically significant correlation was found between the following transformational leadership characteristics and anticipated turnover of RN staff: idealized influence (-0.39), intellectual stimulation (-0.36), individual consideration (-0.34), and inspirational motivation (-0.28). For all comparisons, p<.0001. The magnet designation of the hospital (holding magnet status or seeking magnet status) was the demographic variable that demonstrated staff nurses were least likely to have anticipated turnover (p=.0007). A stepwise regression analysis produced a model in which the presence of attributed idealized influence characteristics of the nurse manager (p<.0001) and magnet status of the hospital (p=.0004) best predicted anticipated turnover of RN staff nurses, but the variance explained was modest (RU=0.22). In view of the worsening shortage of RN staff, these findings have implications for the hiring and evaluation of nurse managers and the institutional importance of magnet status. Educational implications include leadership curriculum development for nursing administration tracks in advanced educational degrees, as well as continuing education for current nursing managers. Policy implications include funding research dedicated to innovative retention and leadership strategies, pay for performance for lower RN turnover, and incentives for hospitals to achieve magnet status.