Date of Award

Summer 4-27-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Cindy Petersen

Second Advisor

Tricia Kassab

Third Advisor

Alana Hughes-Hunter

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory phenomenological study was to identify and describe the strategies used by nurse executives in acute care hospitals to build an adaptive capacity based on the five key characteristics of adaptive leadership identified by Heifetz et al. (2009).

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study identified and described the perceived impact of adaptive leadership on building an organization’s adaptive capacity as perceived by nurse executives in acute care hospitals, for-profit and not-for-profit, with the title of chief nursing officer (CNO) or chief nurse executive (CNE) in Southeast, West, and North Florida. The researcher was part of a thematic team of nine peer researchers and three faculty advisors. The thematic team collaboratively developed the semistructured interview protocol used in this study. Additionally, purposeful, convenience sampling was used to identify the 10 nurse executives who were interviewed concerning their lived experiences in building adaptive capacity within their hospital setting.

Findings: Analysis of the data collected from interviews and supporting artifacts resulted in 1,983 frequencies across 23 major themes and 10 key findings. Five major findings emerged from the themes and key findings.

Conclusions: Five conclusions were drawn based on the major findings and supporting literature. Nurse executives build adaptive capacity by (a) actively and strategically seeking honest feedback to resolve barriers, (b) linking individual performance to organizational outcomes to establish shared accountability, (c) providing supportive autonomy and encouraging solution-oriented mindsets to encourage independent judgment, (d) setting fundamental leadership expectations and invest in on-the-job development to increase their team’s leadership capacity, (e) setting dedicated time for individual and collective reflection and shared knowledge to sustain continuous learning cultures.

Recommendations: The researcher recommends training and development for hospital-based health care leaders on building adaptive capacity, emotional intelligence, communicating to inspire, developing purposeful meetings, and strategic transition programs for emerging leaders. Through the development and successful completion of these implications for action, health care leaders will be able to lead more strategically and effectively in hospital settings.

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