Relationship between nurses' leadership styles and power bases

This quantitative study aimed to empirically evidence the relationship between the power bases of the leader and the leadership styles of nurses. The random sample consisted of 204 nursing professionals from a public hospital. The following measurement instruments were used: the SBDQ (Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire) to identify leadership styles and the Power Perception Profile to determine the types of power used by leaders. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. Based on the results, two relationships proposed by the SLT (Situational Leadership Theory) were verified: between coercive power and S1 leadership style (telling), and between referent power and S3 leadership style (participating). In other cases, results have been opposite to expectations: the use of power proposed by the model decreases the probability of performing the prescribed leadership style. DESCRIPTORS: nursing staff; power; leadership; hospital administration RELACIÓN ENTRE ESTILOS DE LIDERAZGO Y BASES DE PODER EN LAS ENFERMERAS El objetivo del estudio es la comprobación empírica de la relación entre las fuentes de poder del líder y los estilos de dirección de las enfermeras. Estudio cuantitativo, muestra elegida al azar constituida por 204 participantes pertenecientes al personal de Enfermería de un hospital público. Los instrumentos de medida fueron: el SBDQ (Supervisory Behavior Description Questionaire) para identificar los estilos de liderazgo y e