Comparing Leadership Styles - Claire Fagin - Essay Example

? Claire Fagin T NUR 443 November 2, Claire Fagin In the nursing field, women have made their mark in various departments. The groundbreaking research records they accomplished evidence their presence in medicine. They chose to swim against the tides and it paid off through the current well-formatted health care systems existing today. As nursing leaders, issues such as gender parity in a male dominated career could not deter the legendary leaders from spearheading relevant and reliable medical researchers. Henceforth, the conversation shall focus on Claire Fagin, a pioneer of the psychiatric nurses. Palpably, Claire Fagin applies visionary leadership in her quest to research and establish a niche for the psychiatric nurse in the medical fraternity. She is an American academic, educator nurse and consultant who was born on 25 November 1926. Her academic credentials are a series of documents received from various universities in New York City including a Ph. D from the New York University, a Master’s degree in Nursing from the Columbia University and Bachelor’ s Degree in Science from the Wagner College. In her life, she has participated in programs involved in leading practice and thinking in education of nurses, geriatric nursing, policies of nursing and health, administration as well as leadership programs (Houser, Player and Sigma, 2004). Her career has involved covering major milestones and holding important posts. Between 1977 and 1992, Claire served on the University of Pennsylvania as the Dean of the School of Nursing before she joined the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences as a scholar in Residence participating in geriatric nursing research (Houser et al 2004). The year 1993 was a good year for Fagin. She was Presidential Chair of the University of California, San Francisco, in the early weeks of the year. It was in the same year that she became the first woman Interim President in the Ivy League universities. She was the Interim President of University of Pennsylvania a post she held from July 1, 1993 until June 30 1994. In the same year that Claire held the office, she invested heavily on energy while contributing significantly to the University through program ms such as the Commission on Strengthening the Community (Houser et al 2004). A Democratic Leader Her leadership skills during the one-year term drew wide admiration and contributed to her being a Professor of leadership Emerita at the University of Pennsylvania. There are a number of styles incorporated by persons holding positions of leadership in group settings of any scale. The ideas incorporated as well as the relationship between the leader and the members rely on the style applied by the leader. Claire Mintzer Fagin held a number of leadership posts in her long career (Houser et al 2004). The administration of her authority in these posts closely resembles the leadership style labeled democratic. According to Clark (2013), democratic style of leadership involves the participation and listening to the views of members of the group in the decision making process before the leader finally makes decisions. Clare encouraged the participation of the people in the organizations she managed. She believed and still does believe that communication using open channels is a key ingredient in the makeup of a successful leadership role administration (Houser et al 2004). Clare aimed to replace the atmosphere of distrust created by distance with a homely family-type environment in the university. Comparing Leadership Styles Based on the “Leadership Style Survey”, the delegate system of leadership scored highest in similarity to Claire Fagin’s leadership style. Participative leadership has been shown to increase employees’ motivation, feeling of power, and job performance in various countries and it has been reported as an effective leadership style for all cultures (Effects of participative, 2011). In contrast, delegate styles are the least effective of all three-leadership styles, which are authoritative, democratic and delegate system. The leaders often offer little or no guidance to the group members. Decisions are left to the group members (Cherry, 2013). Therefore, this style is more effective for employees with a lot of experience and do not need guidance from the leader. This is suitable for high rank employees working under the highest chief in the organizations. Personally, I think democratic leader style is the most efficient among all the leader styles. Democratic style encourages teamwork and equality. This style involves leaders organizing, developing, and supporting the people in the organization. In addition, this style of leadership also encourages participation of everyone in attaining targets of the group instead of just communication. Democratic and delegate system is very different. However, depending on the situation in question every leadership style can help to improve the outcome of the group and yield better results. Challenges during Claire’s Career The career path of Clare Fagin has been a long and eventful affair. In her life, she has worked in different capacities from a nurse to an educator. She served as the Dean for close to fifteen before being the first woman Interim President in an Ivy League university. However, this path of success in different positions is not void of challenges. The biggest challenge was discrimination based on her gender. When she was appointed president, Clare realized there were speculation on her eligibility in qualification for the post based on her being a nurse and mostly the fact that she was a woman (Houser et al 2004). Clare was of the view that women in authoritative positions received more criticism. However, she did not let this get in her way and worked to prove her critics wrong. The fact that Clare was a supermom and a high-ranking professional woman at the same time also created a challenge. She had to balance the acts in both situations without conflicting one with the other. This prompted her to spend a considerable portion of her salary on a housekeeper. Claire’s Impact on Nursing Clare Fagin is a trailblazer in the nursing field due to the accomplishments of this great woman. Her innovative opinions and ideas that she willingly shares have yielded a great deal of good results in the fields that they are applied. Her idea of the access of parents to children in pediatric wards was adopted all over for the strong results derived (Houser et al 2004). Clare’s achievements make somewhat of an enigma in the nursing field. In her life, Clare has been in positions that the epitome of great achievements. She was the first female Interim President in an Ivy League University, which will not belong to anyone else in the rest of the time. This and other great accomplishments portray her as an iconic figure in the nursing field. Clare’s work output is also iconic. In the year that she held the presidential office, she contributed significantly to the University through the Commission on Strengthening the Community and other projects. Claire’s Legacy Influences Future Nurses In the nursing world, the legacy that is Clare Fagin is an important part. Her work is a foundation for the reunification of the practice of nursing and the education. Her work has improved nurse and doctor collaboration and reduced the view that nurses are inferiors to doctors. This impacts me directly as it will help me have good relationships with participants in my working environment. In her life, Claire did not hesitate to go for positions like the university president that may seem unattainable. Claire’s work also had one fundamental principle involving the use of communication to encourage participation. This will serve as a guideline to me in my endeavor to attain highest ranked posts in the nursing field. As a pioneer, this legendary woman has earned it. She initiated the psychiatric nursing leading to provision of detailed care to minors. The formidable undergraduate program she orchestrated benefited numerous scholars while diversifying academics. Further, the home reform resulted in comprehensive coverage for aspiring psychiatrists. In the many learning institutions she has worked, Claire has left her honorary accomplishments as her reminder. Conclusion Claire’s experiences, setbacks, and achievements inspire today’s nurse in that an individual contribution blended with contribution from like thinkers can transform the medical field. Women power and unity as she states is fundamental to the triumph of the female gender in this arena. Comparing present advancements with back then, more is achievable through detailed researches to improve and better the lives of humans as well as provide cure to ailing patients. As a person, the fact that one woman can aspire to devise numerous programs and overcome criticism from already recognized professionals is encouraging. Such a pacesetter in this challenging career makes me realize that knowledge is a powerful weapon by which I can stand to prove a discovery. Nursing is a lifetime career that one never stops learning irrespective of age. New research opportunities are emerging; all we need is to explore the horizons. References Blanchard, K. (2004). Leadership and the Bottom Line. Executive Excellence, 21(9), 18. Cherry , K. (2013). Lewin's Leadership Styles: The Three Major Leadership Styles. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm Clark, D. (2013). Leadership styles. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html Houser, B., Player, K., & Sigma Theta Tau International. (2004). Pivotal moments in nursing: Leaders who changed the path of a profession , 205-224. Indianapolis, IN, USA: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Zhang, Z., Wang, M. and Fleenor, J. (2013). EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP: THE MODERATING ROLE OF CULTURAL VALUES. [online] Retrieved from: http://proceedings.aom.org/content/2011/1/1.140.short [Accessed: 2 Nov 2013]. Read More