The influence of nursing directors' leadership styles on Taiwanese nursing faculty job satisfaction

Leadership and job satisfaction are recognized as fundamental components influencing the overall effectiveness of an organization. Training effective leaders has been proposed as a key to increase professionalism in the nursing field. Yet, nursing leaders in Taiwan seldom receive the proper leadership training necessary to lead an academic organization. As a result, the leader may burn out and dissatisfaction among faculty members may increase. The main purposes of this study were to examine nursing faculty perceptions of nursing directors' leadership styles and job satisfaction levels, and to understand how well the perceptions of leadership styles relate to faculty job satisfaction levels.;This was a descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires. Transformational Leadership theory and a direct-effects model supported the research framework of the study. Nine out of 12 schools with nursing programs awarding diplomas to students participated in this study. A roster of faculty members listed on the nine schools' Websites was accrued for mailing questionnaires. Two hundred forty-four questionnaires were mailed directly to the selected faculty members at the school address. A total of 175 questionnaires were returned, representing a 72.0% response rate in this study.;Findings indicated that Taiwanese nursing directors tend to display transformational leadership more frequently than the transactional leadership and the laissez-faire style in their workplace. Taiwanese nursing faculty members reported moderate levels of satisfaction in their jobs. In addition, the findings also indicated that nursing directors who were perceived as practicing the leadership style of attributed idealized influence more frequently produced higher levels of nursing faculty job satisfaction. However, nursing directors who were perceived as displaying the laissez-faire style more frequently ended up with lower levels of nursing faculty job satisfaction.;This study helped pave the path for researchers in Taiwan's nursing field to understand the importance of setting up a leadership training program so that nursing leaders are able to improve their leadership skills. Future studies should engage in examining how transformational leadership drives faculty to a higher level of job satisfaction and motivation that are necessary for maintaining faculty's productivity and commitment and to advance Taiwan's nursing profession.