Self-analysis of Leadership Behaviors and Strengths - Research Paper Example

This paper presents my potentials for good leadership in the nursing profession as I analyze and evaluate my personality strengths and behaviors in relation to the various nursing leadership theoretical models. To begin with, nursing shortage has apparently been a major problem of many countries all over the world. According to American Nurses Association (2011), the nursing population is aging rapidly and nursing shortage is expected to peak by year 2020. While the government takes effort and initiative to strengthen the healthcare system by recommending an increase in capacity on nursing education to encourage individuals to enter the profession, the nursing professional practice also continuously develops to meet the demands of advancement in trends and policies.

Promoting nursing leadership to empower the new nurses is of core importance not just because of the present situation of nursing shortage but for building a strong foundation of healthcare manpower for the coming generations. In connection to nursing leadership, Curtis, Vries, and Sheerin (2011) defined leadership as a collective variety of thoughts, reflections, and images; including power, influence, fellowship, dynamic personality, charisma, goals, autocratic behavior, innovation, cleverness, warmth, and kindness.

As the nursing education and practice develops, the same is true in nursing leadership theories. Clark (2009, pp. 6-23) presents the evolution of leadership theories from the basic leadership principles to more broader concepts and these are: (1) The great man theory – leaders are born, not made; (2) Trait theory – some people are born with inherited traits suited to leadership; (3) Behavioral theory – leaders are made, not born; (4) Role theory – describes how expectations frame behavior; (5) Lewin’s leadership styles – a.

autocratic (making decisions without consulting anyone), b. democratic (involve others in their decision), and c. laissez-faire (minimal involvement in decision-making); (6) Likert’s leadership styles – a. exploitative authoritative (using threats and fear to achieve conformance), b. benevolent authoritative (showing concern but sugarcoats information and maintains control of decisions), c. consultative (listens to everyone but still makes the major decision), and d. participative (increases collaboration and seeks involvement of others in the decision-making process); (7) Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory – considers motivation and capability of the followers; (8) Normative leadership – chooses a decision procedure from autocratic to group-based, depending on decision-acceptance and follower knowledge; (9) Path-goal theory – clarifies the path to a goal, removing roadblocks and increasing rewards along the way; (10) Leader-member exchange theory – leaders exchange informal agreements with their members; (11) Transformational leadership theory – uses vision, passion, personal integrity, and enthusiasm to shape a changing social architecture by being proactive, serving as a catalyst for innovation, functioning as a team member, and encouraging organizational learning; (12) Authentic leadership – positive, genuine, trustworthy, credible, reliable, and