Date of Award

Fall 1-6-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Jonathan Greenberg, Ed.D.

Second Advisor

Patrick Ainsworth, Ed.D.

Third Advisor

Carol Anderson-Woo, Ed.D.

Fourth Advisor

Doug DeVore, Ed.D.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe the leadership strategies that exemplary chief nurse executives use in inpatient acute care hospitals located in Southern California to create an organizational culture of inclusiveness using Kennedy’s (2008) 5 leadership qualities of cultural differences.

Methodology: A sequential mixed methods research design was selected to answer this study’s research questions. The researcher was a part of a thematic group of 10 peer researchers and 7 faculty advisors. Through purposeful sampling, the researcher selected 18 exemplary chief nurse executives for survey data collection using instrumentations developed by the thematic. From the 18 participants, 6 were selected to participate in virtual semistructured open-ended interviews. The final analysis of this sequential mixed methods research design summarized the findings that emerged from both quantitative and qualitative data.

Findings: The findings of this study revealed that exemplary chief nurse executives believe that creating a culture of inclusiveness will lead to positive organizational outcomes, meeting the patient’s diverse needs, and encouraging a respectful and accepting environment. Based on quantitative data analysis, the summary of the survey items produced similar responses of strong agreement with the five leadership qualities of culture difference as defined by Kennedy (2008).

Conclusion: Seven conclusions were drawn from this study’s data analysis of exemplary chief nurse executives. Creating a culture of inclusiveness is an active pursuit and (a) requires routine conversations, (b) using all 5 leadership qualities of cultural difference, as defined by Kennedy (2008). Chief nurse executives can create a culture of inclusiveness using the strategies of (c) intentionally encourage diverse perspectives, (d) actively participate in meetings and organization events to understand individual staff members’ differences, (e) create a safe space to share ideas, (f) serve as a role model for the expected behaviors, and (g) embrace a shared governance model.

Recommendations: Further causal-comparative research is needed to compare the strategies identified by the exemplary chief nurse executives and the perceptions of employees and patients. Additionally, further research should be conducted on different types of hospitals, including integrated health care systems and specialized medical centers.

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