Aim To identify the attributes of effective clinical nurse leaders.

Method A grounded theory research approach was adopted, using two research techniques: observation and interview.

Results The literature review revealed that the role of the clinical nurse leader was ill-defined and addressed only in sparse, opinion-based literature. Novel outcomes of the research included:

Conclusion The results imply that to enhance clinical nursing, leadership factors that enable and constrain clinical nursing leadership have to be identified and acted upon by individuals and those who they report to professionally.