'Good ethics and moral standing' : a qualitative study of aesthetic leadership in clinical nursing practice

Aims and objectives: To explore how aesthetic leadership is embodied by clinical leaders in the nursing workplace. Background: A number of different leadership styles have been developed, theorised and applied to the nursing workforce over the years. Many of these styles lack an explicit moral dimension in their identified leader attributes, due to a shift in theorising of leadership to focus on the impact of leader traits on followers. It is timely to look at aesthetic leadership, with its explicit moral dimension, as a way of improving outcomes for nurses, patients and health care organisations. Design: Qualitative design, using conversation-style interviews with experienced registered nurses in designated clinical leadership roles. Methods: Twelve experienced registered nurses who worked in designated clinical leadership roles participated in an individual, digitally recorded, semi-structured conversation-style interview. Narrative data were transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. Findings: Three main themes emerged: 'True to their beliefs': embodying principled practice; 'Not all policies fit every patient': ethical leadership in ambiguous situations; and 'Being open to people's concerns': providing fair and just solutions. A strong moral compass shaped and guided participants' day-to-day clinical leadership activities. Conclusions: Participants provided a rich narrative on how aesthetic leadership is embodied in the clinical nursing setting. It was evident that their clinical leadership is shaped and guided by a strong moral compass. By incorporating into their practice an aesthetic world-view with its strong moral purpose, participants in this study have shown how aesthetic leadership can enhance the clinical nursing workplace. Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses in the clinical setting value clinical leaders who embrace and operate with a strong moral compass. Aesthetic leadership, with its explicit strong moral purpose, offers a way of incorporating morality into clinical leadership in the nursing workplace.