Achieving Professionalism: Leadership Influences on Care Quality - Essay Example

How Leadership influences Care Quality How leadership influences care quality Introduction The success of an organization, institution or group is determined by various factors such as the financial status, the leadership strategies used by the managers and the nature of activities undertaken. The management is the fundamental organ to the success of an organization because it plays a major role in decision-making. The management also helps in determination of the direction to which an organization or institution takes. It is through integration of effective managerial skills and approaches that the objectives and the goals set by the organization are met. It has been found that the styles that the leaders incorporate in running the operations and activities of an organization immensely contribute to the success of the firm. It is the responsibility of the managers and directors to ensure that the strategies of leadership that they use in their organizations are effective and efficient. Situation Having visited Johns Hopkins Hospital and evaluated the operations and activities in the hospital, I realized that there are various effects of the leadership strategies that are used to the success of the organization. Being an international hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital offers various medical services to the clients, and its success is influenced by the managerial and leadership approaches that are integrated in the organization. I liked the leadership approaches that are used in Johns Hopkins Hospital because they positively influence every worker in the organization. The employees are considered to be part of the hospital, in the sense that they are consulted in decision-making. The management values teamwork and this positively impacts to the performance of the organization. Patients are offered quality treatment and services because the nurses and medical practitioners in the organization are trained on various skills of handling clients. The management of the organization understands the need of integrating different leadership styles depending on the department and issue to be addressed. For instance, the employees adhere and follow the company’s code of ethics and codes of conducts, and this helps them in meeting the needs of the employees effectively. Strong leadership that is observed in the organization is achieved because the nurse leaders ensure that every employee offers the highest level of care. The management encourages employees to work closely and take the needs of the patients ahead of their personal issues. The leaders mentor the other nurses and medical professionals in the organization. They achieve thus by offering advice and guidance the nurses need to fulfill their duties with confidence and care. This study aimed at investigating the fundamental elements of effective leadership, and more importantly bring to understanding the significances accrued by adapting the leadership qualities that are effective in the nursing field. Various issues have been observed to be affecting the leadership approaches used by organizations especially in the medical sector. This presents the need to investigate the applicability of various leadership styles in nursing. To be able to arrive at an evidence-based conclusion, both primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed. Primary data collection was effected through the use of interviews, and the responses were evaluated and analyzed to arrive at concrete conclusion about servant leadership. Recommendations and conclusions were made based on the findings from both secondary data sources. How Leadership influences Care Quality People have different perceptions on the aspect of leadership, with some arguing that leadership relies on the leaders’ ability to integrate appropriate leadership techniques and managerial skills. There are other qualities that a leader should have for effective and productive leadership to be observed, and these are with inclusion of the ability of an individual to integrate all human senses in addressing issues affecting the people he/she leads. This implies that qualities related to effective communication and ability to listen to other peoples’ opinions must be within the leader for appropriate leadership to exist. Various studies have found out that effective and efficient leadership takes place when leaders integrate the attributes where the leaders are obliged to serve the people, and not be served by the people. Leadership is a fundamental tool or aspect that people fail to understand its contributions to the success of a project, organization or successful accomplishment of a task involving several parties. From a research conducted by Ellis and Hartley (2009), nursing leaders are required to have specific appropriate qualities and abilities to meet the needs of people, and this is from the understanding that leaders need to serve the people they lead (Ellis & Hartley, 2009). Kleinman, (2004) supports this observation when he claims that effective leadership in nursing takes place when the leaders integrate the attributes where the leaders are obliged to serve the people, and not be served by the people (Kleinman, 2004, p. 2-9). However, this principle of nursing leaders serving the people without expectation of material rewards is not very common in the contemporary leadership. This is because most individuals volunteer to become leaders in attempt to seek for favors and rewards after accomplishment of missions as a way of recognizing their efforts. According to Abualrub and Alghamdimg, (2012), the best leaders are those who use the character of compassion as they offer services to other people. These individuals relate nursing leaders to shepherds, and the people they lead as the flock. They argue that it is the responsibility of the shepherd to protect the flock, and more importantly look for green pastures and water for the flock to be comfortable and healthy (Abualrub & Alghamdimg, 2012, p. 668-678). In the same way, nursing leaders need to protect their people and satisfy their needs as a way of serving them and improving their health. This argument is supported by Huber (2006), who observed that a true nursing leader understands the importance of serving others, and claims that the aspect of who serves the other separates great leaders from good leaders (Huber, 2006). The ability of a nursing leader to serve the people he/she leads is the secret to leadership which makes leaders great. Ramey (2002) noted that a good nursing leader not only finds the desires and wants of other people, but also moves ahead to help them meet their needs. The desire to do work that is aimed at bettering the health of patient is one way of adding value to that person, and in case one is a nursing leader he/she becomes a great leader in the field (Ramey, 2002). Huber (2006), pointed out that true nursing leaders seek ways and approaches of making things better for the people they serve as a way of improving the quality of their health. He describes the concept of working for people to improve their health as the law of addition. This is because the act of doing well to patient should be a continuous process (Huber, 2006). Medley and LaRochelle (2007) argued that implementation of the medical law is a complex process because of the expectations of people who believe in leadership power; prestige and wealth among other issues that most leaders in the contemporary world seek to achieve (Medley & LaRochelle, 2007). Blaikie (2003) clearly describes the common misconception among the nursing leaders, arguing that the act of showing compassion has been seen as a weakness by majority of people. This is to the sense that they fail to recognize the fact that compassion is one attribute of servant leadership (Blaikie, 2003). One cannot help another person in problems or suffering if he/she does not sympathize with the person. By showing kindness and love, leaders are able to address matters affecting their followers because they understand the feeling of other people. Blaikie (2003) argued that the best leaders are those who model the character of Christ in the way they serve their people without expectation of rewards or favors (Blaikie, 2003). According to Blaikie (2003), when nursing leaders love their work and have affection to the patients they serve, they are able to address the challenges and complications that the followers might be having regardless of how complicated or huge they are (Blaikie, 2003). According to the Holy Scriptures, “25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (Luke 24:25-26). In their material, Weiss, Dawis, England and Lofquist (2009) described how nursing leaders need to lead like servant leaders as a way of ensuring that the people they lead attain better life and protection. The nursing leaders need to act as good models through helping people meet their daily needs and cater for some challenges that they encounter in life Weiss, Dawis, England and Lofquist, 2009). This argument is confirmed by Cook, Hepworth, Wall and Warr (2012) who observed that some hospitals make the leap while others do not, and gave the major reason behind such observation in business organizations to be the leadership styles that these organizations integrate in their operations and practices (Cook, Hepworth, Wall, & Warr, 2012). The argument of was supported by Clark and Watson (2006) who observed that organizations whose management understands that the leaders are there to serve the people tend to have better performances as compared to those firms where management concentrates on increasing the profits without considering the well-beings of the employees and consumers (Clark & Watson, 2006). This is supported by the scripture, “12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12-17). From the medical view point, it is the obligation of the nursing leaders to prepare nurses for works of service so that the patients can receive the treatment and medical services they require. According to research conducted by Clark and Watson (2006), if the leader of a nursing understands the need of serving patients, then the patients will comprehend with the fact that their nurses understand the needs of serving patients and other people. Bass and Avolio (2002) also observed that in case servant leadership is integrated in any organization or hospitals, the hearts of people, their actions and the behaviors are transformed positively (Bass & Avolio, 2002). Generally, servant leadership builds upon the ability and potential of leaders to meet the demands of the people they lead without expecting any material reward or favor. According to Bass and Avolio (2002), servant leadership in nursing field is the most appropriate approach of leadership as the leaders ensure they has not left any stone untouched as a way of satisfying the needs of the patients they serve (Bass & Avolio 2002). From the above arguments, it can be concluded that nursing leadership is constructed upon by the ability of the nursing leaders to have good listening skills, empathy, healing powers, ability to persuade and self-awareness which helps in strengthening servant leaders. Conceptualization is another attribute that nursing leaders need to have alongside prescience and stewardship which entails holding something in trust for another. Thus, an understanding from the Biblical Integration Project can be drawn that servant leadership in nursing is only possible if leaders strive to follow the example that Christ showed his disciples; master serving the servants as a way of showing humility, humbleness and willingness to help them. To be able to arrive at evidence-based conclusion about nursing leadership, it is essential to connect the understanding drawn above with leadership approaches used at John Hopkins Hospital. The observation from the hospital helps in establishment of genuine arguments about how medical organizations which integrate servant leadership perform as compared to those which do not exercise servant leadership. Additionally, interaction with leaders from the hospital helped in advancement of my research methods because I was forced to adapt communication skills and research technique that was effective in investigating about leadership in nursing. The experiences got from the leadership skills in the medical setting were coherent and logical, and this helped in establishment of sound conclusions on the concept of nursing leadership. Various nursing leaders described leadership as a measure that is used to manage the operations and practices of an organization, institution or a team with individuals who are working towards attainment of a common goal or objective. Others argued that there was a great difference between servant leadership and general leadership, and grounded his argument on the understanding that servant leadership in nursing integrates leaders who have the ability and willingness to serve the people they lead without anticipation of favors. On the other hand general leadership entails control and management of powers by leaders. Most leaders in nursing support the fact that great nursing leaders are those who lower themselves to serve their servant and help them improve their living standards while good leaders are those who rely on the efforts of the servants (Fowler, 2002). According to Schalkwyk, Du Toit, Bothma and Rothmann (2010), the role of nursing leader is to protect the rights of their workers and patients, and to ensure that they address all the needs of the patients satisfactorily without fear or favor (Schalkwyk, Du Toit, Bothma & Rothmann, 2010). They argued that some of the challenges that nursing leaders face are with inclusion of criticism because most people expect the servants to serve the master and not the master to serve the servants, and unwillingness of some employees to be served by their leaders. Just as in the case of servant leadership where some junior employees are against being served by their superiors, some medical employees do not give their nursing leaders a change to serve them. Schalkwyk, Du Toit, Bothma and Rothmann (2010) confirmed the fact that servant leadership in nursing is applicable in all departments. Thus leaders need to get sufficient training and education on leadership to gain experiences and knowledge and direction as they exercise servant leadership in their respective disciplines. In the main, reflecting on the reality that the nursing leaders in hospitals the responsibilities of leaders in the discipline are very critical, and in order to exercise servant leadership, it requires them to have the conviction and persuading potentials to be able to make his juniors understand and comprehend with the essence of servant leadership. Generally, all the observations and experiences shared with nursing leaders, shows a nursing leader who is always keen on keeping the needs and his members before his own desires. Nursing leadership behavior as described by the various nursing leaders entails the leader having the ability to understand and feel the needs of the people they govern. Nursing leaders need to have the potential to communicate effectively with the juniors to be able to make them be aware that it is the responsibility of the leaders to serve the servants and not the contrary. The shepherd is required to look for better pastures and water for the flock to make them satisfied and healthy, and so should the leaders behave in bettering the lives of the people they lead (Worrell, 2004). The understanding presented by the nurses on effective and efficient leadership is concrete and reliable because one is able to accept the roles of nursing leaders in the medical field. The perceptive of nursing leadership described from the interaction with the nursing leaders is compatible with the understanding drawn from the literature. This is because one is made aware that nursing leadership is not concerned about a title, but the leaders just feel as part of the team. When individuals or leaders start thinking of their position in their respective profession, they may fail to address the issues that affect their people because they might not be able to interact with the members to dig the challenges out and get solutions accordingly. This argument is supported by the scripture that “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ” (Philippians 2:5). This shows that nursing leaders should not value their positions in the profession they operate in, but rather they should just feel and members of the group they lead, and this way they will be able to understand the issues that affect or hinder the members from attainment of the goals or objectives regardless of how small the issues may be (Kaiser, 2012). The other understanding that is emphasized by the research literature and reactions of the leader is that nursing leaders are there to help with the affairs of patients and other nurses. The success of a nursing leader is serving and helping others, and thus they need to train to see the needs of other people. This argument brings forth the understanding that skilled nurses are sensitive observers and they are competent in meeting the needs of people. Additionally, it is retrieved from studies that a true nursing leader does not have his own agenda, but rather uses the agenda of the people they lead to help them achieve their focus. It is the nursing leader’s highest ambition to successfully help the followers reach their goals and objectives, and the patient to retain their health. It is essential to note that the mission of nursing leaders is to serve nurses and patient, and just as a good parent understands the needs of his/her children, so does a good nursing leader (Kaiser, 2012). Conclusion The quality of health services that are offered in an organization are greatly determined by the leadership styles that the health organizations use. Generally, for one to become a good nursing leader, he/she needs to be modeled by professionalism to act and behave like professionals in the medical field. Nursing leaders need to act in a way that shows that they are oriented from self to others, in the sense that they are not self-centered but patient centered. Nursing leaders must learn to make decisions based on the wants and desires of other nurses and patients, and not from their personal agenda. This way, they are able to understand the challenges or issues affecting other people. Nursing leadership requires the leader to have a tender heart that shows empathy and compassion to patients and nurses. They need not to be afraid to establish strong intimate relationship with the people they control or lead, and by following these guidelines, nursing leaders will grow into competent leaders in the field. References Abualrub, R. F. & Alghamdimg, M. G. 2012. The impact of leadership styles on nurses_ satisfaction and intention to stay among Saudi nurses. Journal of Nursing Management. 20:668–678. Bass, B. & Avolio, B.2002. 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Job insecurity, leadership empowerment behavior, employee engagement and intention to leave in a petrochemical laboratory. SA Journal of Human Resource Management. 8(1):1–7 Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., England, G. W. & Lofquist, L. H. 2009. Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Industrial Relations Center; Worrell, T. G. 2004. School Psychologists Job Satisfaction: Ten Years Later. Available online at: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05252004-122551/unrestricted/Travisdiss.pdf. Read More