The Shared Leadership Style in Nursing - Essay Example

"The Shared Leadership Style in Nursing" is an excellent example of a paper on care.
The leadership that I deem best in the nursing field is the Shared leadership style. Shared leadership describes a team approach whereby leadership becomes distributed equitably amongst team members rather than focusing on a designated leader. It became based on a team level concept where multiple individuals influence the course of behavior and decisions made rather than singularly by those in formal leadership positions. Leadership becomes delegated to the team members based on ability and experience in that field (Cook, 2001).

The Shared leadership style is superior to the other styles because it emphasizes the distribution of work among the team members to maximize each member’s skills and abilities. This means that each team member focuses more on the tasks and responsibilities that got best fit for, in order to achieve the best of outcomes. Shared leadership brings the best out of each of the team members, and when all efforts become brought together, the load becomes often lightened. Shared leadership exploits the depth of the skills and talents that exist in an organization and leads to a positive competitive environment (Cook, 2001).

Shared Leadership ensures that the team works in unison hence making it possible to identify opportunities to enhance production and efficiency. By sharing the various leadership responsibilities, one can get a clear view of the areas that genuinely need improvement to maximize productivity and positive growth. Teams work better and become more productive with shared leadership. This style of leadership fosters innovation by according team members an opportunity to act and take up leadership roles that they are well vast at. It brings about the element of creativity and innovativeness. Creativity flourishes more in environments that have embraced shared leadership. The team member will at times unknowingly outdo himself due to innovations that come to mind. This is often common in the shared leadership approach (Merkens, 1998).

Shared leadership has been the most effective style in the nursing fraternity and the greater healthcare field. In the various practices that I have either visited or worked in, there has been evidence of shared leadership. This shows that it is the most preferred leadership style. Subordinates and formal leaders all have leadership roles to play in the hospital or practice. This is because shared leadership is practiced in the healthcare field and requires as much collaboration as possible. Nursing, whose main goal is to improve patients’ conditions, is often dependent on how the different groups of medical practitioners work together as a unified front (Merkens, 1998).

This leadership style worked best in an environment where nurses and other medical practitioners work together with leadership responsibilities. This ensured that only one goal, the patient’s well being, informed all their actions. Shared leadership worked best in nursing environments where different medical caregivers were present. However, this leadership style may be inappropriate when critical decisions are to be made. The formal leader is responsible for making such decisions rather than delegating such duties. In cases where team members have failed to reach a compromise, the formal leader exercises his leadership qualities by making the final decision (Cook, 2001).