Ethical Leadership and Organizational Climate: The Experience of Iranian Nurses

As a legitimate and credible role-model, the ethical nurse leader engages in the proper structuring of the workplace and plays a significant role in improving the organizational climate. Despite the importance of the subject, no studies have yet examined the effect of ethical nursing leadership in improving organizational climates in Iran.
The study was conducted to explore the ways for improving organizational climate through ethical leadership from Iranian nurses perspective.
The qualitative research method used in this original study was employed to explore the means of improving organizational climate through providing ethical leadership. Data were collected using deep and semi-structured interviews with 17 Iranian nurses in different categories in 2015 in Mashhad, Iran. Sampling started as purposive and then continued as theoretical sampling until data saturation. Data were analyzed based on the constant comparative analysis. In order to increase the accuracy and integrity of the data, Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used.
According to the Iranian nurses interviewed in this study, the ethical leader improves the organizational climate within three dimensions including the work environment, the communication climate, and the ethical climate. The ethical leader creates organizational identification, trust, and solidarity among nurses. He/she improves the communication atmosphere through understanding and empathy, the creation of trust and the establishment of good and reasonable relationships with others. The ethical leader also develops the ethical climate to internalize ethics in the staff through facilitating ethical practice in the organization.
Given the context of nursing practice in Iran, this study helps develop a favorable organizational climate and improve ethics in nursing practice. Creation of an ethical climate by ethical nurse leaders can ultimately be of benefit to the patients, the organization, and the nursing profession.