Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis

Abstract Background Given the increasing trend of disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics and other crises, crisis leadership is crucial for nurses who lead others and for those working in such situations. There is a need to define and explore the concept of trust as a component of crisis leadership...

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Main Author: Karin Hugelius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Nursing
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02748-z
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author Karin Hugelius
author_facet Karin Hugelius
author_sort Karin Hugelius
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description Abstract Background Given the increasing trend of disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics and other crises, crisis leadership is crucial for nurses who lead others and for those working in such situations. There is a need to define and explore the concept of trust as a component of crisis leadership in nursing. This concept analysis aimed to explore the concept of trust in crisis leadership from a nursing perspective. Methods A hybrid concept analysis was conducted. The method consisted of three phases: (I) a theoretical phase relying on a structured literature search, including 11 scientific publications; (II) a field-work phase, in which qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 30 nurses who had been deployed and/or had led others during crises, was conducted and (III) a final analytic phase, where the results from these data collections were merged. Results The analysis suggested that the fundamentals of trust included a perceived intention to do good, the capabilities of both the leader and the team and the perceived predictability of the leader’s behaviour. Trust was found to be built on a perceived forward-looking direction, self-trust and the personal attributes of the leader, such as ethical conduct, the ability to predict the development of crises and an intention to take responsibility and be honest. The social attributes of the relationship between the leader and the team included the intention not to leave anyone behind, loyalty and fostering a sense of belonging among team members. The organisational attributes included a clear organisational structure and clarity of mandate. Conclusions Trust is an essential component of crisis leadership that depends on a leader’s perceived intention to do good, predictability of the leader’s behaviour and the capabilities of both the leader and the team. The development of trust relies on the personal attributes of the leader, the social relationship between the leader and the team and organisational attributes. Nurses appointed to lead others during a crisis need to understand the fundamentals of trust as part of leadership in highly demanding situations. Thus, it can be argued that being a leader in a crisis situation requires distinct personal and professional attributes and skills compared to those used to meet routine demands.
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spelling doaj-art-3aabbc8cd60d4d1f9921c29ba0378b852025-01-26T12:22:44ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552025-01-0124111210.1186/s12912-025-02748-zTrust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysisKarin Hugelius0Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro universityAbstract Background Given the increasing trend of disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics and other crises, crisis leadership is crucial for nurses who lead others and for those working in such situations. There is a need to define and explore the concept of trust as a component of crisis leadership in nursing. This concept analysis aimed to explore the concept of trust in crisis leadership from a nursing perspective. Methods A hybrid concept analysis was conducted. The method consisted of three phases: (I) a theoretical phase relying on a structured literature search, including 11 scientific publications; (II) a field-work phase, in which qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 30 nurses who had been deployed and/or had led others during crises, was conducted and (III) a final analytic phase, where the results from these data collections were merged. Results The analysis suggested that the fundamentals of trust included a perceived intention to do good, the capabilities of both the leader and the team and the perceived predictability of the leader’s behaviour. Trust was found to be built on a perceived forward-looking direction, self-trust and the personal attributes of the leader, such as ethical conduct, the ability to predict the development of crises and an intention to take responsibility and be honest. The social attributes of the relationship between the leader and the team included the intention not to leave anyone behind, loyalty and fostering a sense of belonging among team members. The organisational attributes included a clear organisational structure and clarity of mandate. Conclusions Trust is an essential component of crisis leadership that depends on a leader’s perceived intention to do good, predictability of the leader’s behaviour and the capabilities of both the leader and the team. The development of trust relies on the personal attributes of the leader, the social relationship between the leader and the team and organisational attributes. Nurses appointed to lead others during a crisis need to understand the fundamentals of trust as part of leadership in highly demanding situations. Thus, it can be argued that being a leader in a crisis situation requires distinct personal and professional attributes and skills compared to those used to meet routine demands.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02748-zDisastersEmergenciesLeadershipNursing administration researchNursing care managementNursing staff
spellingShingle Karin Hugelius
Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
BMC Nursing
Disasters
Emergencies
Leadership
Nursing administration research
Nursing care management
Nursing staff
title Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
title_full Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
title_fullStr Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
title_full_unstemmed Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
title_short Trust: an essential component in nursing crisis leadership; a hybrid concept analysis
title_sort trust an essential component in nursing crisis leadership a hybrid concept analysis
topic Disasters
Emergencies
Leadership
Nursing administration research
Nursing care management
Nursing staff
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02748-z
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