AIM: The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to effective clinical nursing leadership in Jordanian hospitals from the perspectives of nurse managers (NMs). BACKGROUND: Clinical leadership is about expertise in specialised fields and involving professionals in clinical care. Even though leadership terminology has been used in nursing and healthcare business literature, clinical leadership is still misunderstood, including its barriers. METHOD: This study adopted a qualitative narrative approach and recruited a purposive sample of 19 NMs and two associate executive directors of nursing from two hospitals. Data were collected through two focus group discussions and in-depth interviews and were analysed using content analysis. The study was guided by the 'Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research'. RESULT: Four themes emerged regarding barriers to effective clinical nursing leadership: (1) power differential, (2) inconsistent connectedness with physicians, (3) lack of early socialisation experiences and (4) clinical practice reform is a mutual responsibility. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Barriers are detrimental to effective clinical leadership; they are associated with interdisciplinary and professional socialisation factors. Managers and academicians at all levels should immediately consider these barriers as a priority. Innovative clinical leaders should identify barriers to effective clinical leadership at the early stages. Thus, innovative clinical leadership programmes are warranted.