Background: Nurse leaders face high pressure, but self-leadership can help them thrive. Nursing students, therefore, should develop this skill before graduation.
Purpose: To investigate nursing students' self-leadership perceptions and associated factors, and to reveal when and how self-leadership strategies are utilized.
Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design with interpretative description; 943 nursing students were surveyed and 13 were selected for qualitative analysis. Descriptive data were collected, and self-leadership was assessed using the Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire. Focus group interviews were analyzed through thematic and content analysis.
Results: Students who were employed, were involved in student clubs or organizations, held managerial roles, and had career goals exhibited higher self-leadership perceptions. Qualitative findings revealed that staying in comfort zones, overthinking, and procrastination hinder self-leadership, while self-respect, self-awareness, and self-determination enhance it.
Conclusions: Nurse educators should design interventions that enable students to take on planning roles, advance at their own pace, and engage in opportunities to develop their self-leadership skills.
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