Adaptive Leadership on the Empowering Behavior of Nurse Managers in a Level 2 Hospital

Abstract

This quantitative descriptive–correlational study examined the level of adaptive leadership and empowering behaviors among nurse managers in a Level 2 government hospital, as well as their relationship. Data were collected using validated questionnaires covering adaptive leadership dimensions and key empowering behaviors. Findings showed that nurse managers demonstrated a high level of adaptive leadership, particularly in collaborative problem-solving, responsibility sharing, and support for learning, while conflict management ranked lowest. Empowering behavior was rated very high overall, with skill development as the strongest dimension and delegation of authority as the lowest. A strong positive relationship was found between adaptive leadership and empowering behavior, indicating that adaptive leadership significantly enhances staff empowerment. These results support Ronald Heifetz’s Adaptive Leadership Theory and Gretchen Spreitzer’s Psychological Empowerment Theory, highlighting that participative and development-oriented leadership fosters autonomy, competence, and engagement among nurses. Strengthening conflict management and delegation of authority is recommended to further improve empowerment and unit performance.