Values of a servant leader A servant leader is considered to be the strengthener of his or her followers. He or she is a role model that the followers admire to imitate. This paper is going to focus on nurse’s characteristics as a servant leader and how these characteristics affect his or her role. There are many leadership theories that explain good leadership traits and how to cultivate them. However, this paper is concerned about servant leadership and its effectiveness in nursing. IntroductionLeadership is a kind of conduct of the leaders.
The way leaders conduct themselves dictates what kind of leaders they are, and the outcomes of their leadership is seen on the performance of the organizations they lead. According to Myra, (1999), the term servant leader is used to describe ones power and authority to serve others through leadership. A nursing director is mandated to guide his or her followers by initiating and sustaining a relationship that support others in their work place and the environment (Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, 2011).
Servant leadership theory is practically a philosophy which explains the support of people that choose to serve first. It also encourages collaboration, trust, listening, and use of ethical power and empowerment. This theory explains the role of a servant leader and emphasizes on their duty to serve his or her followers, thus have desire to serve and this goes beyond desire to lead. Leadership is the art of the conduct and the person in any given organization. When persons are said to possess good or bad leadership qualities, it all depends on the way they carry themselves.
According to Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, (2011), great leadership works through emotions. However, it depends on whether these emotions are positive or negative. Positive emotions bring out the best outcomes from a leader. In this case, much of what a nursing director does when he or she is optimistic, can highly yield positive returns. On the other hand, when the director is negative about what he does, then, this leads to dissonance. Many people try to become leaders but they eventually fail.
Those who succeed usually practice leadership strategies that are effective for them to be able to meet their desired goals or targets. One of the character traits of an effective leader is talent (Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, 2011). Many people say that leaders are born with the talent but for them to be successful, they must gain experience through practice. It is apparent that most of the renowned and successful directors worldwide are very qualified and think in a unique and creative way as compared to others.
They have the ability to see far ahead and know what effect their action can cause. Another trait of nursing director as a servant leader is honesty. This is very crucial for one to become a successful nursing director and should be honest in the organization that he is leading as well as to his employees and other stakeholders. Leaders who are honest have a very large following and are well respected in their organizations as well as in the society. Honest leaders encourage cohesion in the organization and therefore this lone can help in the success of the organization (Savage-Austin, & Honeycutt, 2011).
An effective nursing director should also be in a position to respect the opinion of other people (especially his or her employees). Leaders should seek and consider the opinion of others before making large or small decisions in the organization. Ignoring the opinion of others will lead to hatred and rivalry thus affecting the attitude of the group. An effective nursing director should also be confident and enthusiastic. The director should always be in high spirits so as to increase the morale of the employees.
The director should be able to work hard and meet the set targets and goals of the organization. Another trait is presence of mind and decision taking abilities. Many hindrances emerge in the organization and the director should be able to set his mind straight and make brave decisions for the success of the organization (Charlie, 2011).ConclusionAccording to the findings of this essay, it is apparent that, leadership qualities mostly depend on the way a leaders carries themselves. The more positive the leader is, the more the outcome is to the organization, and vice versa.
References:Myra, L. (1999). Servant Leadership: Setting the Stage for Empirical Research. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies Winter/Spring, 6, 1: 49-72.Savage-Austin, A. R., & Honeycutt, A. (2011). Servant Leadership: A Phenomenological Study of Practices, Experiences, Organizational Effectiveness, and Barriers. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 9, 1: 49-54.
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