The Role of Leadership in Nursing Practice - Assignment Example

LEADERSHIP IN NURSING PRACTICE Leadership in Nursing Practice Introduction Any organization or society in the world in the world is dependent upon the good leadership/management to ensure that it accomplishes the sole purpose for which it exists. Consequently, the role of leadership and management has to be central to the running of any organization. Healthcare is one of those organizations that rely on good leadership and management. This essay will examine the fundamental theories underlying leadership and management in nursing, as well as the centrality of leadership towards the success of nursing as a profession. Theoretical Guiding Principles of Leadership/Management in Nursing Nursing and health care are governed by leadership styles grounded in known theoretical frameworks. The leadership theory chosen by an individual will depend on the personality of the individual, as well as the individual’s beliefs towards leadership. Leadership in nursing is supported by theories that include motivational theories, interactive theories, and transformational leadership theories (Chambers, 2011, pg. 30). Motivational Theories Abraham Maslow hatched motivational theory of leadership. Maslow broke down motivation using his hierarchy of needs, which outlines the motivation required at each level. Motivational approaches are hinged on the belief that team members must be continually and gradually be furnished with an impetus to stay on track with organizational goals. The impetus provided can be in terms of material or appraisals. Interactive Theories Interactive theories emphasize the Japanese style of management - theory Z. These theories are hinged on democratic principles. The fundamental principles underlying these methods are harmonious decision-making, fitting employees to their tasks, and career refuge.         Transformational Leadership Theory The theory lays emphasis on the importance of developing teams to achieve the goals and vision set by the organization. Teams are developed through training and hand-holding sessions that are planned by the management.                                      Styles of Leadership in Nursing Every institution has a style of leadership espoused by its leaders. Styles of leadership also vary according to the individual who take up leadership positions. There are several styles of leadership, which include servant, transformational, autocratic, laissez-faire, and democratic. Servant Leadership A leader who animates servant leadership influences and motivates members of his/her teams by building their skills, as well as by building relationships. Besides, the input of each member of the team is brought into account whenever decisions are made in the organization. A leader practicing servant leadership bears qualities such as “listening, acceptance, awareness, influence, prescience, dedication to the development of others, and building community within the organization” (Kelly, 2009, pg. 9). Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership is closely linked to servant leadership. This style of leadership focuses on constructing relationships and motivating team members through a shared vision and mission. Transformational leadership is grounded on the principles of using charisma to communicate vision, using confidence as a tool for inspiration, staff respect and loyalty, and encouraging people through praise and encouragement to do thing they never saw possible (Bass & Riggio, 2006, pg. 23) Democratic Leadership The democratic style of leadership focuses on encouraging open communication and staff participation in the decision-making process. Additionally, workers are given responsibility, accountability, and feedback that regard their performance. The fundamental principle in a democratic system is the focus on quality amelioration of systems and processes rather than the mistakes of individual team members (Kings, 2012, pg. 15). Authoritarian/Autocratic Leadership The autocratic style of leadership is characterized by a “one-man show” orientation when it comes to making decisions. The primary markers of this style of leadership include motivation via coercion, direction through commands, downward communication, non-involvement of other team members in the decision-making process, punitive criticism, and the overemphasis on the differences in status (the I versus them dichotomy). In addition, key information may be withheld from team members since knowledge is considered as power. Mistakes are punishable, and, individuals, rather than faulty systems and processes are blamed. Used on daily basis, the autocratic orientation of leadership kills trust, communication, and teamwork (Tappen, 2001, pg. 50). Laissez-Faire Leadership Laissez-faire leadership is characterized by little or no direction to team members as well as a hands-off approach. The pillars of this leadership orientation are no decision making, conservatism aimed at maintaining the status quo, and reactive rather than proactive quality improvements. Additionally, this method has mostly been adopted by new, inexperienced leaders or by leaders at the tail end of their careers who prefer to let their replacements make changes. Leadership at My Workplace In the station where I work as a nurse, leaders at different levels apply a blend of the leadership styles discussed. The most predominantly used style though is servant leadership. As nurses, we are continually expected to improve our skills for the betterment of the organization. The skills we are expected to learn and improve on encompass leadership skills all through to teamwork. These skills aid in professional growth in the nursing profession that is important towards developing better healthcare standards for the populace. In addition, my input as a nurse to decision-making processes in my station is often brought into account. I am often asked to give a view or two about things I would like improved at work so as o improve both my efficiency and that of my team members. In addition, I am often asked to give suggestions on things that are being done in the management of healthcare in my organization that should be stopped and new things that should be introduced. The other leadership style expedited at my workplace is democratic leadership. The managers always give periodic feedback to me and my members on how we are progressing with our acquisition of skills to perform our jobs to a better level. Moreover, as members of the medical team, we are allocated duties and responsibilities. Every member of the team is required to collaborate with other members to ensure that the tasks assigned are covered with the highest level of professionalism possible. Besides, after every team activity, post-mortems are carried out to point out areas that need improvement and those that need to be tweaked from the system to improve the efficiency of the team. My Take on the Leadership Styles at my Station I think the two styles of leadership practiced at my place of work are efficient. This is so because they emphasize on the development of the team as a whole not simply on individuals. Also, these styles enable the amelioration of the systems and processes that guide healthcare at my place of work – this kind of orientation makes it easy for new members of the team to fit easily in, since they are coming into already established schemas. The drawbacks that come with the styles of leadership used at my place of work include the fact that the decision-making process is often slower, and also that sharp deadlines are not often easily met because of the flurry of lines of people involved in realizing the accomplishment of works (Tomey, 2009, pg. 28). Leadership Philosophies and Demands within the Medicare Organization Leadership in nursing is based on a set of philosophies that are determined by the heavy demands placed on the healthcare industry. Healthcare management is supposed to promote cohesiveness between the various stakeholders to ensure the smooth running of the organization. The key to good healthcare leadership lies on integrity. Integrity is what sets practitioners in healthcare apart, to offer high-quality health care to those that need it. Through integrity, leaders and managers alike, drive forward the vision of healthcare by keeping their teams focused on achieving the predefined vision. Healthcare leadership demands a lot from both practitioners and the leaders. Both camps have to work together in unison for the goals of healthcare to be realized. Additionally, without clear goals the vision of the healthcare department cannot be realized. The demands of healthcare can be achieved via proper training of nurses and other essential personnel. The Learning Organization The world is currently in the age of information technology in which knowledge is everywhere. Knowledge is a driver of the organization, and it keeps the organization refreshed and ready to deal with this ever-changing world. Consequently, it is important for every firm to keep gaining new knowledge to better its systems and processes. The gaining of new knowledge is facilitated via the concept of the learning organization. According to Clark (2001), the learning organization continuously transforms itself through the facilitation of learning of its members (pg. 2). From this definition, what stands out when an organization is identified as a learning organization is its ability to transform continuously itself to meet new challenges. Zeroing in on the medical field, many changes have occurred within short spans of time. With these myriad changes taking place, it is essential for Medicare stakeholders also to transform their modus operandi to meet the demands placed on them by the changes. Dimensions of the Learning Organization Organizations have notably become accustomed to the notion of knowledge management. Most organizations, health care included, are deliberately taking up knowledge management to remain relevant in the face of change. The learning organization assumes three key components in its dimension that include continuous learning at systems level followed by the management of learning outcomes prompted by the learning and finally these learning outcomes catapult the organization’s performance and value. Essence of Knowledge Creation Knowledge creation can be conceptualized as the development of understanding towards problems or as the execution of innovations essential to the prosperity of the organization (Clark, 2001, pg. 8). In this regard, by cascading knowledge to team members, an organization gets to solve new problems, as well as innovating new methods that help push the organization towards achieving its vision. Impact of Knowledge Creation on the Role of Leaders and Teams Knowledge creation plays an essential role to both teams and the leaders in an organization. To begin with, on the leader’s side, knowledge creation ensures that solutions to problems are hatched out as soon as the problems crop up. Besides, knowledge ensures proactivity in creating innovations essential to the smooth running of the institution by the team members (Senge, 1994, pg. 46). On the teams’ side, knowledge creation ensures the development of core competencies in the nurses and other Medicare teams. This also ensures professional development in the team members is achieved in a prompt manner. Additional, self-appraisal by team members ensures the organizational systems are clear to everyone. Conclusion It is clear that leadership is essential to healthcare, and thus much emphasis needs to be placed on the value of leadership. Leadership ensures that healthcare systems and processes are animated to a level that leads the organization towards achieving their vision. There are several theories that govern how leadership is executed. These theories include motivational theories, interactive theories, and transformational theories. Motivational theories of leadership emphasize the importance of creating an impetus for team members to work harder towards the achievement of organizational goals. Interactive theories encourage democratic principles in the leadership of an organization. Transformational theories emphasize the development of teams to achieve organizational goals. Leaders in every organization use leadership styles that are congruent with their personalities. The leadership styles used include servant, transformational, autocratic, laissez-faire, and democratic. Servant, transformational, as well as democratic leadership styles place emphasis on the role of the team in achieving building systems. The autocratic style of leadership represses teams by putting the burden of decision-making on the leader. Laissez-faire leadership style builds neither the team nor systems. Most organizations have leaders who use two or more of this leadership at the same time to lead in their organizations. Knowledge creation in organizations is essential to the posterity of any organization given the ever-changing world. Knowledge creation helps organizations and their systems to stay relevant in the face of changes. Knowledge creation is relevant both to leaders and to their teams in terms of achieving organizational goals. Recommendations There is a need for the healthcare department; nursing included, to develop better systems for knowledge management that will ensure their prosperity. Knowledge is essential for the achievement of the goals of healthcare. Good leadership needs to be exercised in order to distinguish the nursing profession and make it more effective in the achievement of its vision to better the lives of others. References List BASS, B, M. RIGGIO, R, E., 2006, “Transformational leadership”, 2nd Ed. London. Lawrence Eribaum associates. CHAMBERS, N. (2011) “Healthcare Management” (2nd Ed), London: McGraw Hill CLARK, A., 2001, “Learning Organizations, what are they and how to become one”, Leicester: NIACE COOK, L., and ROTHWELL, B., 2000, “The X & Y of Leadership”, The Industrial Society GOSLING, J. MARTURANO, A., 2008, “Leadership: The key concepts”, London: Routledge. JASPER, M AND JUMMA, M., 2005, “Effective Health Care Leadership”, Blackwell. KELLY, P., 2009, “Nursing leadership and management”, London: Cengage learning. KINGS FUND, 2012, “Leadership and engagement for improvement in the NHS”. London. 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