Leadership Styles in Professional Nursing - Term Paper Example

Since the style of leadership affects the patient’s mortality resulting from nursing care and the wellbeing of the nursing staffs (Firth-Cozens & Mowbray, 2001), the styles of leadership employed in the nursing scenario are essential. Autocratic and democratic types of leadership may positively or negatively affect the practice of nursing profession, nursing staffs and ultimately the patient depending on how it is implemented by the nurse managers. Review of Professional Nursing Literatures Autocratic style of leadership is where a manager is powerful and in authority to make decisions.

The environment is influenced through sets of rewards and punishments. This is most effective when other types of leadership are not effective to manage employees. It also works when there is limited time to make decisions. However, this type of leadership should not be used in situations where employees become tensed, fearful and when employees always rely for the decision of the manager before they act. On the other hand, democratic leadership allows employees to be part of the decision making.

This is participative in style. Employees are informed on everything that affects their work and they participates on problem solving thus the manager has to get the consensus of the group before making decisions. However, democratic leadership is not effective when there is limited time getting the decision of every employee and when safety of employees is a critical concern. Autocratic leadership is implemented in the profession of nursing in times of any emergency cases where the manager has to decide outright and employees are expected to follow without any explanations.

This type of leadership is most beneficial in situations where employees are new and inexperienced and where the organization does not allow errors. Schaeffer (2002) provided an interesting finding that those emergency cases need autocratic managers for the sake of the patient. He further pointed out that managers are equivalent to an operating room surgeon forced to do what it takes to save the patient’s life. Other emergency cases like evacuating the hospital for a possible threat needs the authoritative action of the manager to give directives to subordinates for a common goal that is to transfer everybody involved to a safer place.

Another emergency situation is the need for the code blue team during cardiac arrest. On observation, the same strategy is employed by the nurse manager to effectively handle the situation that is to give directives and be in control of the situation to save the patient’s life during those crucial periods. In these scenarios, a nurse manager can raise voice to command staffs as needed. This is to make sure the nurse and the other members of the team are doing the right thing for a particular case at hand so that if the same situation emerges the group is already equipped with the skills needed.

Exercising power in this method may transfer the skill and knowledge of the nurse manager down to the subordinates. Schaeffer further pointed out that the strategy of being an autocratic leader depends on the challenges at hand. He further added that the strategy is to change the leadership style if needed. As a successful chairman himself of the Well point Health Networks, he accepted adopting different styles at critical