Leadership practices of nurse managers for implementing evidence‐based nursing in China

Aim To explore leadership of Chinese nurse managers in evidence‐based nursing implementation. Background Despite much in the literature that highlights the significance of involving nurse managers, the qualitative nature of how their leadership practices influence the evidence implementation has not yet been fully explored. Methods A qualitative secondary data analysis was conducted on 15 transcripts of interviews of nurse managers from a parent grounded theory study. The method for analysis employed the directed content analysis approach, using the framework of Kouzes & Posner's Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ® model. Results All the leadership practice categories of Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ® were observed in the data. Two additional categories “getting oneself prepared” and “keep it going” were also identified as important leadership practices of nurse managers to exhibit during evidence‐based practice implementation. Conclusion This study advances the leadership model by providing validation of existing exemplars and suggests two new practices with exemplars for a better understanding of the nurse managers’ role during evidence implementation. Implications for nursing management Strategies are proposed to recognise, value and prepare nurse managers’ leadership practices during evidence implementation. Emphasis should also be put on cultivating and developing individual nurses’ professional practice to sustain evidence‐based practice.