Optimism, Values, and Commitment as Forces in Nursing Leadership

Abstract

In a grounded theory study of nursing leadership undertaken in Western Australia, a substantive theory of optimizing as a leadership process was developed. In a context of repression and turbulence, optimizing meant "making the best of the situation, making optimal use of available and potential resources." The author discusses the aspects of the leaders' optimism, values, and commitment, and how these variables appeared to influence the level of optimizing attempted or achieved.