Management vs. leadership in nursing: How are they different?

Strong management and leadership nursing skills drive the success of medical teams and can improve patient outcomes. Effective leadership inspires nurses to reach their potential, while solid management ensures that health care organizations run smoothly and efficiently. Although leadership and management are often used interchangeably, they are distinct yet complementary skills, each playing a unique role in nursing.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of both management and leadership in nursing, discuss their differences and areas of overlap, and provide insight into how mastering these skills can enhance your nursing career.

The impact of effective nurse management and leadership

Both leadership and management are critical for improving patient care and organizational outcomes, staff development, and organizational success. The actions of nurse leaders and managers can impact the overall effectiveness of health care systems. A nurse leader’s ability to motivate, guide, and support their team can make a significant difference in morale and job satisfaction. With burnout rates for nurses increasing, effective nurse leaders are needed to help improve retention and reduce nurse turnover. 

Nurse management focuses on operational efficiency, ensuring that resources are used wisely and that staff are well-organized and supported to meet patient needs. This can lead to cost savings across health care organizations. These savings can help allocate resources for more research and innovation, which can lead to improved health care. Effective nurse leadership results in lower mortality rates because these leaders are focused on putting the right procedures in place that will allow nurses to provide high-quality care.¹

What is the difference between leadership and management in nursing?

While both leadership and management are essential in nursing, they focus on different aspects of health care operations.

Key aspects of nurse leadership

Nurse leadership is about inspiring and motivating. It's a role that's more defined by taking action than distinct responsibilities.⁴ You don't need a master's degree to lead. among nurses or across an entire hospital. Nurse leaders focus on the people—they encourage their teams, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. They lead by example, inspiring nurses to strive for excellence in patient care. Leaders have fewer daily tasks, so they tend to think long-term, focusing on vision, growth, overall patient care, and the professional development of their team members. Nurse leaders can shape workplace culture and advocate for changes that affect the entire organization like safety in the workplace.²

Key aspects of nurse management

Nurse management, on the other hand, is a more task-oriented role. Nurse managers concentrate on organizing resources, ensuring operational efficiency, quality improvement and meeting organizational goals. Many nurse managers are responsible for logistics, such as staff scheduling, budgeting, and ensuring that policies are followed.⁴ Managers often focus on immediate challenges and short-term objectives.

Nurse leadership roles

Leadership positions for nurses can come in all forms. Generally, nurses can demonstrate leadership skills by taking on additional responsibilities to their daily tasks. Aspiring nurse leaders might volunteer for on-call hours or committees, they could lend a hand in training new staff or take continuing education courses to signal to their management teams their interest in a more official leadership role.

Nurse management roles

Nursing management involves the coordination and oversight of nursing staff, patient care, and health care systems to ensure efficient operations. Nurse managers are typically responsible for assigning roles, managing budgets, scheduling shifts, and ensuring compliance with policies and standards. They work to align staff efforts with the goals of the health care organization, ensuring that the day-to-day operations run smoothly.² The role of a manager is more process-oriented and ensures the correct systems and procedures are in place.

Challenges of nursing leadership roles

One common challenge for nurse leaders is establishing their authority within the overall nursing workforce without an official title. Some team members might not respond as well to instruction given by a self-appointed nurse leader compared with a charge nurse, chief nursing officer, or team of nurse executives. Additionally, sometimes nursing leaders might feel that they get stalled in their unofficial role. Nurse leaders who have found themselves taking on additional responsibilities should make sure to have conversations with their nurse managers and executive leadership teams, to make their desire for professional growth clear.

Challenges of nursing management roles

Nurse managers are faced with many challenges. If there are staffing shortages, the manager is responsible for handling those workloads and ensuring patient quality does not suffer.³ For example, during flu season, a nurse manager may coordinate staff schedules to ensure adequate coverage while managing the department’s budget to avoid overspending on overtime. Another challenge managers face is that health care standards and regulations change frequently. Managers must keep pace with changes to implement new policies and procedures to maintain compliance.³

How does management and leadership overlap in nursing?

Although nurse leaders and nurse managers have distinct roles, they often overlap in the nursing profession. They both work to meet standards, improve patient care, and create a positive work environment and balancing both roles is crucial. The best leaders and nurse managers know how to inspire their teams while ensuring operational efficiency. They must be committed to their roles and the organization.² Effective nurse managers are often required to adopt leadership qualities, while strong nurse leaders need managerial skills to execute their vision.

For example, a nurse manager overseeing the implementation of new electronic health record (EHR) software must not only manage the logistics of training and rollout but also use their own leadership skills, as well as pulling in other nurse leaders to motivate staff to embrace the change. Similarly, a nurse leader working to improve patient care standards may need to implement new protocols, requiring management buy-in. They might also require as the critical thinking skills to know how to best manage resources and nursing staff to ensure successful adoption. However, in terms of decision-making, leaders may use a more collaborative approach, encouraging input and ideas from their teams, while managers might make more structured, data-driven decisions to maintain efficiency and order.

Developing management and leadership skills in nursing

To excel in today’s health care settings, nurses must cultivate both leadership skills and management skills. Here are some strategies for developing these abilities:

• Seek out mentorship: Whether aiming to improve your innate leadership skills, or want to learn more about being a nurse manager, mentorship can be invaluable. Find an experienced mentor who will provide honest feedback and tell you the areas you need to work on. Mentors can also be crucial for building your network across a health care system.⁵
• Embrace continuous learning: Health care constantly evolves, and staying updated with the latest trends and best practices is essential for effective leadership and management. Enroll in continuing education courses or pursue certifications or an advanced nursing degree to expand your knowledge and skill set.⁶
• Develop emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills: Being aware of your own emotions and understanding the emotions of others can significantly improve your ability to lead and manage. Interpersonal skills help nurse leaders and managers build trust with their teams and patients. Having empathy and compassion toward others is crucial in any health care setting. Both nursing staff and patients need to feel like they are understood and cared for.⁷
• Hone communication skills: Clear, effective communication is critical for both leadership and management. Whether you’re providing feedback to staff, handing off treatment plans, communicating a new initiative, or resolving a conflict, strong communication ensures that everyone is on the same page.⁸
• Practice adaptability: Health care is dynamic, and the ability to pivot and respond to changes quickly and effectively is crucial for both managers and leaders.⁷ Sometimes you’ll need to inspire your team, while other times you’ll need to focus on logistics and task management

Shape the future of nursing with an online MSN degree from OCU

Mastering both leadership and management is essential for advancing your career in the nursing profession and enhancing patient care. Whether you’re looking to lead a team of nurses or take on a management role within a health care facility, developing both skill sets will position you for success.

Oklahoma City University’s online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program offers the flexibility you need to continue working while advancing your education. Through master's degree coursework that focuses on leadership, management, and advanced clinical skills, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to take on nursing leadership roles in a variety of health care settings. Start on the pathway to management roles with the Leadership specialization, transition from nursing school to educating nursing students with the Education specialization, or expand your scope of nursing practice and impact with the Community-Based Public Health specialization. Ready to take the next step in your nursing career? Schedule an appointment with an admissions advisor and visit the admissions page to learn more about applying.