Management and Leadership in nursing - Essay Example

As clinical nurse, in a leadership role, is involved in the provision of direct care to patients and works continuously to improve the quality of care provided by influencing others. It must be understood in this context that leadership cannot be considered to be simply a set of tasks or skills, but is rather the development of an attitude that relies extensively on informed behavior and remains consistent with enhancing performance and effectiveness on a long term basis along with benefit to everyone involved.

This clearly means that leaders simply do not control others, but simply perform the role of visionaries, who encourage and guide their colleagues in planning, leading, organizing and controlling their tasks and responsibilities (Bernadette Melynk, 2005). Modern literature defines leadership in many different ways although the inherent traits possessed by a leader possess several common features that fit virtually every associated definition. For instance, leadership is often viewed as a process that exerts influence, acts on a group setting and is used as a way to attain a common goal.

Leadership exists at all levels although the style used to deliver leadership varies from person to person. For instance, autocratic leadership is one form that facilitates the attainment of a goal without providing enough opportunities for others to be involved in the decision-making process. a leadership mechanism is termed to be bureaucratic when the person adheres strictly to rules and procedures when delivering decisions (Gladys Husted, 2001). In contrast, participative leadership provides for every member of the community or staff to be an intergral part of the decision making process and actively requires everyone to provide their contributions.

This increased involvement among members increases the commitment of members towards the goals. A more liberal form of leadership is the laissez faire format that