Collaborative leadership and productive work performance: The mediating role of nurses' innovative behavior

Abstract Aim This study aims to explore the relationship between collaborative leadership and nurses' productive work performance as well as the mediating role of nurses' innovative behavior in this relationship. Background Collaborative leadership is an imperative necessity in the contemporary turbulent healthcare environment as it provides a collaborative atmosphere where innovative behavior and productive performance of nurses are fostered, hence moving healthcare organizations toward competitiveness and sustainability. Method A cross‐sectional descriptive correlational exploratory research design was used to conduct the study. Data were collected from 550 nurses recruited from three large university hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt, using three instruments, namely, interprofessional collaborative leadership in healthcare teams scale, productive work performance questionnaire, and innovative behavior inventory. The instruments of the study are Likert‐type questionnaires through which nurses' perspectives regarding study variables were investigated. We used descriptive statistics, inferential statistics as well as structured equation modeling (SEM). Results SEM revealed that collaborative leadership accounted for 83% of the variance of individual productive work performance and 77% of the variance of nurses’ innovative behavior. Moreover, nurses' innovative behavior partially mediates the relationship between collaborative leadership and their productive work performance. Conclusion Collaborative leadership practices are powerful strategies to enhance the innovative behavior of nurses and sustain their productive work performance. Implications for nursing and health policy Fostering a collaborative atmosphere in workplace is mandatory for nurses' innovativeness. Replacing hierarchal leadership styles with collaborative ones is a promising strategy to enhance the productive performance of nurses. Healthcare managers and leaders could cultivate an interprofessional collaborative culture in the workplace in order to sustain productivity and eradicate counterproductive work behaviors among healthcare providers.