Abstract
BACKGROUND: Assertiveness is recognized as a crucial leadership competency in nursing, linked to efficient communication, decision-making, and patient safety. Previous studies have investigated assertiveness in nursing; however, there is a paucity of research on the impact of nurse leaders' assertiveness on staff job performance, especially within the Saudi context, where healthcare reforms under Vision 2030 prioritize workforce leadership and development. AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the assertiveness of nurse leaders and investigate its correlation with the job performance of staff nurses in hospitals located in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: The study utilized a cross-sectional quantitative design. A total of 406 nurses from 17 hospitals were selected through convenience sampling for participation. Data were gathered utilizing two validated instruments: the Functional Assertiveness Scale (FAS) and the Job Performance Scale (JPS). Reliability was established, with FAS α = 0.962 and JPS α = 0.988. The analysis of the data used SPSS v26 to run descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and regression. It also gave effect sizes and confidence intervals. RESULTS: The findings reveal that nurse leaders demonstrated a considerable degree of assertiveness (M = 4.43, SD = 0.81), while staff nurses indicated a significant level of job performance (M = 4.68, SD = 0.70). A notable positive correlation exists between assertiveness and job performance (p < 0.001). Both objective effectiveness and pragmatic politeness, as subdimensions of assertiveness, independently predicted job performance. Assertiveness and performance exhibited significant variation across demographic characteristics such as gender, nationality, and education. CONCLUSION: The assertiveness of nurse leaders has a significant impact on the job performance of staff, underscoring its relevance as both a theoretical concept and a practical skill.