Strategic Analysis: Autocratic Nursing Leadership Style - Essay Example

Strategic Analysis: Leadership Problem Strategic Analysis: Leadership problems Introduction In any given leadershipis very crucial for its success. There are different leadership styles and it is recommended that a leader chooses a style that is most appropriate in their institution. However, working with a single style may have negative outcomes. Instead, a leader is recommended to work with multiple styles. In this analysis, the problem is related to leadership and specifically the use of autocratic nursing leadership style. According to Patel & Jakopac (2012) exclusive use of autocratic leadership may be ineffective in some areas as it is more authoritative and comes with the aspect of dictatorship. Analysis model Structured analysis will be used in this analysis to analyze the problem with leadership in the workplace. This model is more appropriate as it will help analyze the leadership structure in the workplace then break down power. This model considers data as well as processes that can be used to create transformation in the institution. The data in this model are modeled to illustrate their attributes and their association within the model. This will make it easier to analyze the leadership style and how it affects other parts and structures within the institution. Autocratic leadership in nursing Nursing is a very delicate field and if the leadership in place fails, there is a risk of affecting the operations in the institution. Autocratic leadership is disadvantaged in many ways as it limits the authority in junior oppositions below. Leadership cannot be bestowed on a single office. Nursing advocates for leadership in all levels and working with an autocratic leader may be a limitation to this practice. A nurse leader is required to share their powers with colleagues as way of mentorship and encouraging leadership in the workplace. According to Cowden, et al. (2011) says that low performance and quitting of jobs by nurses is highly associated with problems with leadership styles particularly autocratic leadership. This is because this leadership styles underrates the contribution the nurses to the organization as leaders in their junior positions. Alternative models Working with a different analysis model would relatively give a shallow outcome as compared to structured model. The use of objective model would only focus on the roles of leadership in nursing and this would be a limitation to other aspects affecting the leadership problem. Roussel (2013) says that when analyzing a problem in an institution is best to come up with a model that will tackle all the issues affecting the area. In this case, the structured is more appropriate as it is able to break the whole organization and therefore coming up with conclusive and inclusive solution. Interventions for the autocratic nursing leadership styles Mix of multiple styles An autocratic nurse leader needs to incorporate more than one style in their leadership in order to meet the needs of all the stakeholders. Most of people recommend the mix of democratic and autocratic. The application of autocratic leadership may turn out to give destructive outcomes. According to Tourangeau & Laschinger (2010) destructive nursing leadership is correlated with poor nursing job performance and decreased patient safety outcomes. By incorporating democratic leadership the rest of the nurses will able to exercise and acquire leadership skills in the process. The advantage of incorporating this mix is that it gives the nurse leader power over the rest of the nurses while at the same time tied to the opinion a decision of the rest of nurses. Introduction of parallel powers In order to control an autocratic leader, it is recommended that an equal parallel office is created. This can be done by sharing the powers of an office with another office. With this the nurse leader will be required to share their power with other power. The presence of a parallel office will also see the nurse leader held accountable to the other power. Decision making will no longer be bestowed on one office it will need consultation. Introduction of new policies and regulations In order to limit and control the power of an autocratic nurse leader, there should be implemented policies that will ensure that powers are distributed down to the rest of the nurses. This policies should be based on the leadership and ensure that the leader does not independently make the decisions but instead has to involve the rest of the team members Restructuring of the leadership system Unlike introduction of parallel leadership position and introduction of new policies, this intervention involves the change of the whole system which might include introduction of new policies and creation of a new leadership position. Restructuring the nursing leadership might be very extensive and might even involve the replacement of the nurse leader or simple distribute the powers to all nurses in such a way that none of the people has more powers than the rest. Training on leadership skills There are leaders who might be using autocratic exclusively because they do not understand or see the importance of incorporating other styles. Vocational training and advance training for such a leader might widen their understanding and hence trigger changes in their leadership style. In relation to that a mentorship for such a leader might help them change their style. Working closely with a more experienced nurse leader will provide a different perspective in relation to leadership. Introduction of a bigger power By introducing a more powerful office above the nurse leader will have two main effects. One is that the leader will be more considerable in their decisions as they are answerable to someone else. The other impact is that the nurse leader will get a chance to learn directly from the power above. Conclusion Autocratic nursing leadership style has extensive limitations and this eventually reflects in the performance of the rest of the nurses. It is best for a nurse leader to deploy multiple leadership styles in order to accommodate the rest of the nurses who should practice the much needed leadership skills. Using the structured model has enabled this review single out the challenges that come with autocratic leadership and possible solutions to this problem which include mix of leadership styles, introduction of parallel powers among others. References Top of Form Patel, S. C., & Jakopac, K. A. (2012) Manual of psychiatric nursing skills. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Top of Form Roussel, L. (2013). Management and leadership for nurse administrators Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Squires, M., Tourangeau, A., Laschinger, H., & Doran, D. (2010).The link between leadership and safety outcomes in hospitals. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(8), 914-925. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01181.x Cowden, T., Cummings, G., & Profetto-Mcgrath, J. (2011) Leadership practices and staff nurses intent to stay: a systematic review Journal of Nursing Management, 19(4), 461-477.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01209.x Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More