LAUSR

AIMS To test the role of the nursing team leader's (nurse leader) proactivity in attenuating the adverse effect of the nursing team's workload on the team learning and subsequent performance and to consider the role of intellectual stimulation by the nurse leader in this moderated mediation effect. DESIGN A cross-sectional design. METHODS Data on 63 nursing teams were collected from various healthcare organizations by having 455 nursing team members and 63 nurse leaders complete validated questionnaires during 2016-2017. RESULTS As was hypothesized, the nurse leader's proactivity significantly attenuated the adverse effect of nursing team workload on both nursing team learning and intellectual stimulation. Furthermore, intellectual stimulation significantly predicted nursing team learning. Overall, when the nurse leader's proactivity was low, there was a significant indirect effect of nursing team workload on nursing team performance mediated successively by intellectual stimulation and nursing team learning. When the nurse leader's proactivity was high, however, this indirect effect faded. CONCLUSIONS Proactive nurse leaders attenuate the adverse effect of nursing team workload on nursing team learning and subsequent performance. While less proactive nurse leaders demonstrate lower levels of intellectual stimulation under high nursing team workloads, the highly proactive nurse leaders sustain its level and thus maintain nursing team learning. IMPACT This study addresses the nursing team workload-learning relationship. It was found that the indirect negative effect of nursing team workload on team performance, which is mediated by intellectual stimulation, followed by team learning, is substantially reduced when the nurse leader's proactivity is high rather than low.