Importance of Effective Nursing Leadership - Essay Example

Importance of Effective Nursing Leadership Shaw (2007) defines leadership style as the approach and way in which an individual directs and motivates people, and implements plans in order to achieve certain specific goals. Clinical leadership entails those activities that are required to make improvements in the safety and quality of health-care as well as the qualities required to implement these tasks with success. Active and visible clinical leaders should create a safety and quality program that will impose constructive and sustainable improvements for the sick. They should also ensure that health care facilities fulfill their ethical and legal clinical governance obligations. Working conditions in the current hospital setting are very poor and this has demoralized nurses as most of them are opting out of their professions. The hospitals have heavy workloads and they have limited resources, a condition that makes it difficult for nurses to attend to the high number of patients effectively. This has in turn resulted to poor performance in hospitals and has also put patients’ health at risk as noted by Gullatte (2005). Effective strategies that will address these issues should be developed and implemented if nurses have to be retained in their places of work according to Gullatte. One way of solving issues affecting health care systems and nurses in general is through mentoring and developing positive nursing leadership. Nurses leadership in this respect must be looked at both as a professional responsibility and a collective endeavor. Styles of Nursing Leadership There are different styles of nursing leadership which include: transformational leadership, congruent leadership, transactional leadership and servant leadership just to mention a few. The following sections of this paper will be dedicated to analyzing the different leadership styles that can be applied in nursing. Transformational Leadership Bass and Riggio (2006) claim that transformational leadership encourages change in social systems and individuals. It is the most preferred style of leadership in the healthcare setting since it enhances performance and motivates employees. Its main aim is to create value and instill positive change in employees so that they can develop into people with leadership qualities. Transformational leadership involves establishing of a vision so that employees can work towards attaining certain goals. It also involves developing people so that they can be able to adapt to changes that occur in their places of work. Transformational leadership also builds relationships which in effect lead to interactions which increase the energy and morale of individuals (Furlong & Milstead, 2006). This type of leadership is common with nurses who have high managerial positions and they are expected to exhibit leadership qualities when they are carrying out their duties. Transactional Leadership Many leadership and management theorists believe that people are always motivated through a system that encourages rewards or punishments depending on how they perform. This is the basis upon which transactional leadership is founded. The transactional leader will give clear directions to his or her subordinates of what is required of them. The subordinates will then be allocated work which the transactional leader believes they can handle regardless of whether they have the require resources or they are capable of carrying it out. Subordinates are held responsible for their actions and corrective measures are taken when their performances go below the leader’s expectations much as they receive rewards for performing above what is expected of them. The transactional leader uses management by exception as he/she will not attend to a task that is being done as expected. The type of relationship which exists between a transactional leader and the subordinates is one that is based on an unwritten agreement in which the subordinate is expected to perform duties in line with the leader’s wishes (Healthvic, 2005). In spite of never being mentioned, punishments are implemented through a well established formal system that is aimed at maintaining discipline. Congruent leadership: Congruent leadership is based on the principles of a leader; his/her values and beliefs. In the case of nursing, the activities and deeds of the leader are the main drive of the followers’ values and beliefs of care and nursing. The core aim of congruent leaders is to empower, motivate, inspire and build lasting relationships with others. Congruent leaders can therefore be regarded as people with compassion and also effective communicators. Servant leadership Dierendonck and Patterson (2010) believe that the development of leadership is continuous and life-long process when it comes to servant leadership. Ideally, a servant leader is an individual who has developed certain characteristics and still continues to improve his/her leadership skills. There are 11 characteristics of servant and they include the following: Calling: This is the characteristic that the servant leader portrays when he/she is willing to sacrifice his personal interests for those of other people. Furthermore the servant leader has a natural desire to serve others. Servant leaders always have the urge to perform their duties and pursue opportunities so as to benefit others and not for their own personal gain. They also have a desire to make positive changes in the work setting for the good of others. Listening is an essential skill for every servant leader as it makes him receptive and interested in the input and views of other individuals. His followers are thus able to share their ideas knowing that being an excellent listener; the leader will value their ideas by trying to put them into action. Empathy: Empathy is a virtue that should be pertinent to all servant leaders as it enables them to understand situations of their followers which earns them confidence. Leaders who have empathy are able to understand what is happening in the lives of others and the effects of the events and circumstances that they face. Through empathy, servant leaders are able to connect with their followers and hence have a clear idea on how they can help them. Healing: A servant leader has the ability to create an environment in which his followers will be able to get emotional healing. They are approachable and have the capacity to facilitate an emotional healing process in the event that something traumatic happens. Followers of a servant leader usually feel like their leaders appreciate their emotional health and spirit. Persuasion: Servant leaders are able to give good reasons when they are assigning duties to others and prefer not to rely on the authority they are formally given by virtue of their social positions. They prefer not to force people to do something but instead give them the opportunity to choose what they feel is appropriate. Awareness: Servant leaders in general take notice of what goes on around them. They are therefore able to predict when something is going wrong around them. In this sense, they have a clear insight of their surroundings and develop well informed opinions and decisions, giving no room to false appearances as they make decisions. Foresight: servant leaders are always ready to handle issues that will arise in the future. Building Community: A servant leader is able to create conducive working conditions in the work place and also motivate the employees so that they can work hard as a community and thereby improve their corporate performance. Stewardship: servant leaders should ensure that the organizations they lead contribute positively to the whole society as they are seen to be in charge of the society’s well being. Growth: servant leaders always ensure that their leadership skills will enable others to grow and develop. Conceptualization: Servant leaders impart skills of innovation and creativity on their followers as this enables them to be able to come up with solutions in difficult and new cases. My Preferred Clinical Leadership Style The profession of nursing requires good leaders who are able to different leadership styles so as to ensure greater efficiency in hospitals. Nursing leaders should be informed in various areas, including management, academics and politics so that they can be able to fulfill the responsibilities that are given to them. Whereas good leadership employs all styles with one dominating the others, poor leadership tends to stick only with a single style. Congruent leadership forms the base for an effective nursing leadership as it ensures that the profession is patient-centered and that values and attributes of the nursing profession are at the forefront. This leadership style has provides formal and effective influence for nurses and other leaders as it has emphasizes the value of core principles in providing leadership and direction. Leaders hence derive their power and influence from their values, beliefs and principles. In transformational leadership, power and influence of the leader are founded upon their ability to have a vision that will be accepted by most of the followers. Clinical leaders who are inclined to displaying their values and beliefs are a role model to nurses as they also align and identify themselves with the same values and beliefs. This increases the credibility of the leader therefore promoting the significance of their values and beliefs. Conclusion Anybody who is considered an authority or who has the responsibility of assisting other people may well be considered to be a leader. Leadership, according to many an expert, is not a compilation of skills merely, but is as well an attitude that plays a great role in informing behavior. Leaders therefore not only control other people but also give vision to employees, helping them to control, plan, organize, lead and perform other crucial tasks. Indeed it may well be said that good leadership leads to consistent high performance and is usually followed by long term benefits. Every organization that seeks to be progressive must ultimately utilize a leadership style that encourages high work performance, high efficiency, and minimum disruption under various circumstances. The nursing profession is commonly faced with the challenge of developing good leadership skills at various levels. Nursing leadership, whether at the management or service provision level, should ensure that the safety and quality of health care is continuously improved among other things. The leadership styles that have been discussed in this paper, if well integrated in the management of heath care systems, will enable nurses to achieve this goal. References Baltimore, J (2006) “Nurse collegiality: Fact or fiction?” Nursing Management, 37(5), 28-36. Bass M & Riggio E (2006) Transformational Leadership (2nd ed. Illustrated), Routledge. Dierendonck D & Patterson K (2010) Servant Leadership: Developments in Theory and Research, Palgrave Macmillan. Gullatte M. (2005) Nursing management: Principles and practice, Oncology Nursing Society. Healthvic (2005) Developing the clinical leadership role in clinical governance, A guide for clinicians and health services, retrieved 14th August, 2010 http://www.health.vic.gov.au/qualitycouncil/downloads/clingov_clin.pdf Milstead A & Furlong J (2006) Handbook of nursing leadership: Creative skills for a culture of safety (Illustrated ed) Jones & Bartlett Learning. Shaw S (2007) Nursing leadership, International Council of Nurses, (2nd ed) Wiley-Blackwell. . Read More