The aim of this qualitative study is to understand the actions/interactions identified as motivating leadership for nurses working at Primary Health Care services in a city in the South of Brazil. The Grounded Theory was used as the methodological framework. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews with twenty-three nurses working in the municipal health network and seven Nursing professors with expertise on the theme, distributed in four sample groups. The analysis revealed the category Composing the profile of nurses for leadership and its importance in health organizations, supported by three subcategories. The nurse exercises leadership driven by personality, vocational training stimulus, characteristics of the profession and influence of the environment. Nurses are influenced and influence the health service, acting in compliance with health policies, helping to foster the participation and integration of other workers in the health services.
Leadership; Nursing; Public administration; Primary health care