The role of coaching in the development of nurse managers

There is evidence of the importance of the role of nurse managers who are first line managers of a team of nurses within any health sector. This puts the issue of the development of nurse managers on the agenda within the context of improving health care. However, there appears to be little understanding of the UK wide scope of nurse manager development and the means to increase its effectiveness. At the same time, it appears that some nurse managers receive coaching to help in their development. The aim of this study was to explore empirically the role that coaching is playing in the development of nurse managers in order to inform further research and policy makers about the potential utility and value of this means of development. This mixed methods study, using a pragmatist paradigm, gathered data from a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. The survey was administered to elicit the national picture of nurse manager development and what role coaching was playing in this. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with nurse managers, coaches and directors of nursing to draw out their own experiences of coaching for nurse managers. Thematic analysis was the framework used for data interrogation, identifying new patterns and emerging themes. Nurse manager development was being undertaken across all four UK countries, with larger organisations being more likely to develop their managers than smaller ones. Themes that emerged from interviews included how nurse managers were introduced to coaching, how they balanced transitions, the role of reflection, the value of relationships and overlaps between clinical supervision, mentoring and coaching. Findings show that following coaching, nurse managers gained increased resilience, confidence and better coping mechanisms. This resulted in improved team management and cohesion and appeared to lead to better quality of care for patients. This study suggests the importance of nurse managers accessing coaching, to enable transformational leadership of their teams of nurses. It suggests also the importance for organisations to support a coaching culture, to ensure staff satisfaction, motivation and improved quality of patient care. A Coaching Impact Circle framework has been developed to illustrate the impact of coaching on the self, the team and the organisation.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Westcott, Elizabeth J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bachkirova, Tatiana
• Harwell, Jan
• Reboud, Sophie

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/aegw-cf81

OAI identifier oai:identifier

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