Final answer:
The democratic leadership style likely works best in a situation with a nurse executive leading a well-cooperating multidisciplinary team, as it fosters group participation and consensus, which is suitable for established, collaborative teams.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the scenario where a nurse executive is leading a multidisciplinary team of professionals who have worked well together on prior initiatives, the democratic leadership style might work best. The democratic leadership style encourages group participation and consensus building, which can be particularly effective with a team that is used to collaborating and has established trust and mutual respect. This makes it a suitable choice when working with a cohesive group that is capable and motivated to contribute to decision making. In contrast, an authoritarian leadership style characterizes communication that flows from the top down and might be less appropriate in a setting where team members expect to have a say in group decisions and initiatives. A transactional leadership style, which is more about supervision and organizational goals achieved through rewards and punishments, could maintain the status quo but may not fully harness the team's collaborative potential, while a task-oriented approach may focus too narrowly on tasks at the expense of holistic team dynamics and input.