Aim: To evaluate the impact of the Leading an Empowered Organisation (LEO) programme on the role of grade G nurses and their multidisciplinary colleagues in one NHS trust. The LEO programme encourages and promotes leadership skills among NHS staff.
Method: A purposive sample of four grade G nurses, one from each of the hospital's four clinical divisions, was included. Each grade G nurse, and his or her matron, nominated eight colleagues for interview. The final sample comprised four grade G nurses and 32 of their colleagues. Data were analysed using the principles of thematic analysis described by Attride-Stirling (2001).
Findings: The LEO programme improved the grade G nurses' approach to their work in relation to competence, communication strategies, problem solving, risk taking, leadership and management style. Factors that affected the grade G nurses' implementation of the LEO principles included: relationships, personality, experience, work context, staffing levels, autonomy and authority.
Conclusion: This study provided insight into how the grade G nurses applied the principles of the LEO programme in their daily work. Their ability to apply the LEO principles was both restricted and assisted by the culture in which they worked. A partnership between theory and practice is needed. This finding has implications for the LEO programme and the need for it to be implicit in the local working philosophy, that is, the context in which its principles are to be used. This is so that the working context and people within it are intimately engaged with the individual undertaking the course.