Authentic leadership (AL) has become an important approach for modern organizations. Authentic leaders are characterized by openness, integrity, and positive psychological traits. Mindfulness, which involves being present-focused and non-judgmental, has been theorized to be linked to authentic leadership. Mindfulness practices can foster self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy, and social skills in leaders. This study aimed to examine the effect of an educational program on nurse managers’ technical, conceptual, and human relationship competencies, and determine if developing a mindful authentic leadership style can improve key competencies.
Twenty-three nurse managers were divided into three groups. The program comprised biweekly sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, and included didactic approaches, discussion and mindfulness exercises. Training included discussions on mindfulness and experiential mindfulness practices such as body scans, mindful eating, and breath awareness.
Study Findings:
The study found that scores on key AL domains improved:
| Authentic Leadership scores | prior to program | post-program | 3 months post-program |
| Balanced treatment | 47.1% | 60% | 50% |
| Relationship Transparency | 45.7% | 61.4% | 45% |
Findings highlighted a substantial impact of the educational intervention on authentic leadership scores immediately after and at the 3-month mark.
Nurse managers’ mindfulness levels
Measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which is widely used and validated. Initially, nurse managers had low mindfulness levels in observation and action awareness facets. Post-program, their mindfulness significantly improved, with high levels in both facets. Three months after the program, mindfulness levels remained elevated but slightly decreased from immediate post-program scores.
Nurse managers’ managerial competencies as perceived by staff nurses:
| prior to program | post-program | 3 months post-program | |
| Technical skills | 75.2% | 87.2% | 79.6% |
| Conceptual skills | 73.9% | 88.5% | 83.6% |
| Human relation skills | 73% | 89.3% | 81.4% |
The educational program had a large effect on improving the nurse managers’ managerial competencies, both immediately after the program and three months later. The findings suggest that mindfulness training can enhance nurse managers’ attention, awareness, and self-improvement, leading to improved managerial competencies and leadership qualities as perceived by their staff nurses.
The study advocates for recurrent training sessions on authentic leadership to keep nurse managers up-to-date and periodic mindfulness training to boost skills like observation, description, awareness-driven action, non-judgment, and non-reactivity. These practices aim to reduce workplace stress and staff turnover among nurse managers, offering valuable recommendations for ongoing professional development in healthcare leadership.
