Objective:

Knowing the nursing leadership perception from power relationships, based on nurses, recently graduated nurses and the healthcare team's opinions.

Methods:

Qualitative research, case study type, with a phenomenological approach. It was developed in two phases, with the ethics committee's approval. A convenience sample was used, considering nurses, newly qualified nurses and health care providers. Semi-structured interviews were applied. Content analysis and application of the COREQ-32 guideline were performed.

Results:

The power relationships category shows a historical evolution of nursing leadership and power dynamics within the healthcare team related to profession, gender, generational differences and administrative hierarchies.

Conclusions:

It reveals the existence of power relationship that influence the exercise of nursing leadership, which has hindered the participation of nursing in managerial positions, requiring the strengthening of nursing leadership capacities.