ABSTRACT
Objective:
The goal of this study is to analyze nurses’ leadership in intensive care units at hospitals in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the face of positive and negative critical incidents.
Method:
Exploratory, descriptive study, conducted with 24 nurses by using the Critical Incident Technique as a methodological benchmark.
Results:
Results were grouped into 61 critical incidents distributed into categories. Researchers came to the conclusion that leadership-related situations interfere with IC nurses’ behaviors. Among these situations they found: difficulty in the communication process; conflicts in the daily exercise of nurses’ activities; people management; and the setting of high quality care targets.
Final considerations:
Researchers identified a mixed leadership model, leading them to the conclusion that nurses’ knowledge and practice of contemporary leadership theories/styles are crucial because they facilitate the communication process, focusing on behavioral aspects and beliefs, in addition to valuing flexibility. This positively impacts the organization’s results.
Descriptors:
Leadership; Nursing; Critical care; Nurse; Intensive care