In the context of this article, the findings suggest that the ‘gap’ between education and the leadership demands of the clinical setting, as identified by Heller et al (2004), could perhaps be bridged by employing successful training methods as used in the studies reported by Cummings et al (2008). The emphasis on relationship skills as the most important leadership skill would suggest that leadership development programmes should include this element. In this light, it is not surprising that student nurses valued relationship qualities, such as effective communication and being approachable, highly in the people ultimately responsible for helping them bridge the gap between their training and practice (Zilembo and Monterosso, 2008).