The Practice of Leadership in Healthcare Organisations: Interpretation, Authority, and Organisational Authorship

Scaratti and colleagues present a practice-based ethnographic study focusing on lived experiences of healthcare professionals in leading roles. It draws on narrative accounts of head nurses produced and discussed during group sessions held in four hospitals in Northern Italy. Three perspectives are discussed: (1) the interpretation of one’s leading role, (2) the exercise of authority and power, and (3) the organisational authorship, defined here as a relational, embedded, and contextual activity leaving a mark on working activities and organisational roles. The chapter offers rich insights into the daily realities of head nurses’ practices, which are influenced by the inherently liminal and hybrid positions that they occupy in organisational contexts. It thereby contributes to our understanding of the intersubjective and relational aspects of leadership.