Task-Oriented Leadership as an Unfavorable Style: Examining the Relationship between Head Nurses’ Leadership Styles and Nursing Staff Satisfaction in a Comparative Study of Specialized and General Wards

Background Leadership style is an essential factor influencing the satisfaction of nursing staff with supervision and their overall professional performance. This study aimed to examine the Relationship between Head Nurses’ Leadership Styles and Nursing Staff Satisfaction in a Comparative Study of Specialized and General Wards. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed all nurses and head nurses in six hospitals affiliated with Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (Iran), comprising 1,354 participants from specialized and general wards. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Fiedler and Chemers Leadership Style Inventory, and a Supervisor Satisfaction Questionnaire. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 26, employing correlation, ANOVA, and regression analyses. Results At first, the study found that nurses in both specialized and general wards reported relatively high satisfaction with their head nurses. Also, the predominant leadership styles were integrated in specialized wards and relationship-oriented in general wards. However, in both wards, task-oriented leadership showed the lowest satisfaction scores. ANOVA and post-hoc tests confirmed that both integrated and relationship-oriented leadership styles resulted in significantly higher satisfaction compared to the task-oriented style. Regression analyses revealed that leadership styles accounted for 77% of the variance in specialized wards and 75% in general wards. Conclusion Understanding leadership styles can help optimize management structures and enhance the quality of health service delivery. Hospital administrators should pay close attention to this issue. Our findings indicated that one key factor influencing nurses’ satisfaction with their head nurses is the leadership style of those head nurses. Nurses were more satisfied with relationship-oriented and integrated leadership styles, whereas exclusive reliance on a task-oriented style was associated with lower satisfaction.