Leadership Style, Job Satisfaction and Performance of Nurses in Selected Hospitals in Cape Coast

Abstract

This study investigates the efficacy of transactional and transformational leadership styles in the health sector of Cape Coast, Ghana, and their impacts on nurse job satisfaction and job performance. This research employs a positivist and quantitative approach to generalize findings from a sample of 140 nurses selected via simple random sampling from three hospitals. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 24 for descriptive statistics and SmartPLS version 4 for structural equation modeling. The results reveal that both transactional and transformational positively influence nurse performance, with transactional having a more substantial effect. Conversely, transformational significantly enhances job satisfaction, whereas transformational negatively affects it. Moreover, job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational and nurse performance. These findings suggest that while transactional is crucial for boosting nurse performance through structured tasks and rewards, transformational is essential for fostering job satisfaction and long-term performance improvements by creating an innovative and supportive work environment. Consequently, hospital administrators are recommended to enhance nurse managers' transformational leadership skills through ongoing training and education to improve nurse motivation, job satisfaction, and patient care. The study contributes to the existing literature by elucidating the nuanced impacts of transactional and transformational on nurse outcomes, offering insights for policymakers aiming to enhance staff retention and performance in the healthcare sector.