title: Ineffective participation: reactions to absentee and incompetent nurse leadership in an intensive care unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to analyse reactions to ineffective leader participation in an intensive care unit (ICU).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Critical examination of leadership failures helps identify nurse manager behaviours to avoid.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey collected data from 51 interacting healthcare providers who work in an intensive care unit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants reported dissatisfaction with nurse leaders who were perceived as absent or ill prepared. Participants categorized intensive care unit productivity and morale as moderate to low. Multiple regression suggested the best predictor of perceived unit productivity was supervisor communication; the best predictor of employee morale was perceived leader mentoring.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intensive care unit nurses reported wanting active participation from their leaders and expressed dissatisfaction when supervisors were perceived as absent or incompetent. Ineffective leader participation significantly correlated with lower employee perceptions of productivity and morale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Senior managers should recruit and develop supervisors with effective participation skills. Organizations primarily concerned about productivity should focus on developing the communication skills of nurse leaders. Units mainly concerned with employee morale should emphasize mentorship and role modelling. Formal assessment of nurse leaders by all intensive care unit team members should also be used to proactively identify opportunities for improvement.
authors.affiliation: School of Advanced Studies, Doctorate of Health Administration Program, University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Ruby A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rouse
mesh_terms: D001130:Arizona; D003625:Data Collection; D004526:Efficiency; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D007857:Leadership; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012938:Social Perception; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors