Leadership characteristics are pivotal for the personality and performance of head nursesas evident by many research studies which showed the influence ofleadership characteristics on organizational outcomes that related to , performance, job satisfa
ction, as well as the effectiveness of teamwork. The study aimsis to assess the personal leadership characteristics of head nurses in Banias National Hospital and Tartous Cardiac Surgery Center. The study results showed that head nurses rated themselves highly on loyalty, experience and knowledge, whilst nursing staff rated their head nurses highly on professional appearance, and least regarding the following leadership traits: trusting their teams, empathy, and compassion which concurred with self-rating of head nurses. Head nurses also rated themselves highly and significantly higher than staff rating on communication skills followed by managerial skills, motivational skills and finally problem solving and decision making skills.
