Understanding Change and Change Management in Relation to Nursing Leadership - Literature review Example

Understanding change and change management in relation to nursing leadership Student's Name: Course Name and Number: Instructor's Name: Date Submitted: Understanding change and change management in relation to nursing leadership Paper Outline 1. Introduction 2. Lewin’s Force Field Analysis 3. Transformational leadership 4. Conclusion 5. Reference List 1. Introduction In today’s volatile economic climate, the significance of leadership and change cannot be overestimated in relation to the success of any organization. Organizations are usually faced with major changes during their development. Organizational change entails the alteration of routines in order to deal effectively with the environment where they operate. Change is usually caused by internal as well as external factors. Factors outside the firm that causes change include such aspects as change in consumer requirements, rivalry threat, and entry of new firms, mergers and takeovers, government laws among others. Internal factors that cause organizational change include change of business location, revision of policies and procedures, change in employee policy among others leadership. Just like any other sector, healthcare organizations across the globe undergo significant change management in order to enhance the quality of their services. Nurses have the role of managing planned change in their respective hospitals. Fulton, et.al (2009), in their studies, argued that planned change is a requirement in the modern world, because it provides health organizations with a competitive advantage. In order for change management to be effective, organizational leaders should use both the Lewin Force Field Analysis (FFA) and transformational leadership. 2. Lewin’s Force Field Analysis (FFA) The Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) is not comfortable with the status quo, and as such, she intends to update the pediatric intravenous policy in order to bring it in line with the current based practice. However, the long term nursing staffs are not ready to embrace this new policy i.e. they resist change. NUM thus decides to adopt Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis in managing resistance to change. Kurt Lewin who was a psychologist developed a model of change management known as a force field theory during the 1940’s. According to Lewin, there are two main forces that are involved in change management that is, opposing forces and constraining forces. According to Stanley (2011), Lewin’s FFA aims at generating possible solutions of managing these two forces. Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Obtained from: valuebasedmanagement.net A) Driving forces Driving forces refer to factors that organizational managers have to enhance the change process (Brown, 2005, P.101).According to Stanley (2011), driving forces usually set off the change and also make considerable effort ensure that the change remain . The following are some of the driving forces in a health arena that is; working groups, staff involvement, and competition among nurses among others. Stanley (2011) stated that staff involvement and working groups enhances communication ad brainstorming among nursing staff. With this regards, the Force Field Analysis will play an important role of avoiding a state where the nurses do not feel involved in change management. Also, the NUM responsible for driving organizational change will not be viewed to be less concerned about employees’ demands. Staff involvement and working groups will enable, a problem can be viewed from different perspectives. According to Stanley (2011), force filed analysis will allow the veteran nurses to prepare in advance for the proposed changes. Also, it will enable the nurse unit manager to identify the appropriate measures require to be taken in good time. Creative solutions can thus be developed in order to deal with the anticipated problems. B) Restraining Forces Stanley (2011) defined restraining forces as those aspects that hinders change managers from managing change effectively in their organizations. These forces mainly act to decrease the change drivers .They are found within the firm or can occur from factors outside the firm. Restraining forces in a health arena may include such aspects as laziness, aggressiveness and lack of inspiration. The main reasons as to why the veteran nurses are opposing the proposed changes may include; management failure to meet the individual expectations, guilt anxiety, or they could be experiencing psychological uncertainty over their future. FFA is can be an effective model of dealing restraining factors such as morale, increased stress and self-interests. 3) Transformational leadership The other approach that the NUM can adopt in order to implement changes to the pediatric intravenous policy in the ward is transformational leadership. Stanley (2011) argued that transformational leadership is a process through which both the senior leadership team and the employees work together to achieve high levels of morale and enthusiasm. Transformational leadership was coined by Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus in 1985. According to them, clinical leaders should inspire nurses to perform their duties enthusiastically to achieve the overall objectives. A research, which was done by Fulton, et.al (2009), states that transformational leadership helps nurses to change their attitudes towards their job and life in general. It instills values among themselves. Stanley (2011), in their studies argued that transformational leadership is both a process and a property. As a property, transformational leadership is the set of qualities or characteristics attributed to those who are perceived to employ such influence. Thus, transformational leadership is not only concerned with some attributes of the person but also what the person does. Transformational leadership is not the same as being a manager or a supervisor. It requires a leader to clarify strategic intent by setting a clear vision, build a strong organization i.e. come up with a common mission that drives both management and employees and also shape organizational culture i.e. build values and believes that shape the organization positively (Fulton et.al, 2009, P.154).According Stanley (2011), there are four main themes of effective transformational leadership that is, vision, communication, trust and self-knowledge. a) Vision Being visionary is one of the key characteristic of a clinical leader. The Nurse Unit Manager should use vision as a rallying point for all the nurses in order to manage change. Transformational leaders usually create a vision of what they want their organizations to become in the future. Generally, a vision explains the expected outcomes, towards which organizational change is expressed. It acts as a platform through which change can be designed, implemented and assessed. Normally, the vision enables employees to be committed to changing by providing them with a compelling rationale of the importance of change in the organization. In their studies suggested that the vision is an essential tool for motivating employees to work towards the desired change. Stanley (2011) suggested that a vision plays an important role of representing shared values. Transformational leaders have the role of ensuring that the vision is effective. Thus, they should describe the desired future and also energize commitment to it. The Nurse Unit Manager should encourage participation in creating the vision in order to achieve maximum support. Thus, she may involve all the veteran nurses and all those who are affected by the planned change. She should ensure that the vision is inspiring to the long term nursing staff. b) Communication Neno & Price (2008) in their studies stated that transformational leadership is the use of non-coercive influence to direct and coordinate the activities of the members of an organized group towards the accomplishment of group objectives. Thus, a leader should be able to explain organizational goals to the employees i.e. he or she should be able to communicate effectively. Transformational leaders have an excellent communicational skill that is; they are eloquent (Neno & Price, 2008, P.105). The NUM can adopt this strategy to implement changes to the pediatric intravenous policy in the ward. As such, she should express the planned change to veteran nurses with precision. This will persuade the veteran nurses to follow her vision. It is difficult for the subordinate nurses to embrace change if they do not have a clear idea of the planned changes. As such, the NUM should be able to bring about an almost fanatical loyalty among her subordinates. A research, which was done Stanley (2011) suggested that transformational leaders speaks charismatically .They have the ability to create immense symbolic powers that play a crucial role of influencing others. This idealized influence often leads to strong loyalty (Swanwick & McKimm, 2011, P.16). c) Trust For organizational change to be effectively managed, transformational leaders must earn trust of their subordinates. Stanley (2011) claim that trust and respect acts as a motivation to transformational leaders to perform exceedingly well. Organizational leaders should be able to keep their promises. As they keep their promises with employees over time, the employees come to trust them, making change management effective. Bass & Riggio (2005) in their studies stated that there is a relationship exists between transformational leadership and the employees’ behaviors. When employees trust their superiors, they are less likely to resist change (Slack & Parent, 2005, P.245). Thus, the NUM should strive to gain trust among the veteran nurses in order to manage change at the ward. d) Self-knowledge The success of change management in the modern business environment strongly relies on the self-knowledge of the leaders. The senior leadership team acts as the head of the organization. They have the roe of creating rules, controlling the procedures, providing employees with incentive among other duties. According to Stanley (2011), transformational leadership requires one to know what he or she should do in order to influence others to work towards the desired objectives. Self-knowledge is thus an important aspect as far as transformational leadership is concerned (Jasper & Jumaa, 2008, P.69). Stanley (2011) stated that self-knowledge is the key component of any transformational leadership because it enables leaders to lead others well. Knowledge begins with self evaluation that is; a leader should understand his or her capabilities and how to interact with the followers. Thus, the Nurse Unit Manager should have a clear understanding of her abilities and expectations in order to implement changes to the pediatric intravenous policy in the ward. Self-knowledge also requires the NUM to use a systematic approach to implement change. She should thus involve all the organizational stakeholders. Stanley (2011) argued that involving all the key stakeholders will enable the organization to act quickly to organizational demands. 4. Conclusion Health managers who intend to initiate change in their organizations should pay attention to change drivers and change restraining forces. The nurse unit manager can identify both the restraining and driving forces by adopting the following approaches; brainstorming, performance appraisals, clinical supervision, and think tanks among others. Transformational leadership requires leaders to initiate change in their respective organizations. By so doing, the leaders are able to challenge the status quo. Transformational leaders should be able to rally employees around a shared vision. Such leaders have the ability of modeling the way i.e. setting example for others to follow. Transformational leaders usually inspire others to perform their duties enthusiastically. They passionately communicate future goals to the employees. As a transformational leader, the NUM should be able to employ visionary explanations in order to motivate the long term nursing staff to embrace the new change. Transformational leadership also requires leaders to keep their promises. Self-Knowledge is another crucial aspect as far as transformational leadership is concerned. This is because it enables leaders to serve as a mentor to the employees. 5. Reference List Bass, B.M. & Riggio, and R.E.2005.Transformational Leadership.Ed:2.London: Routledge. Brown, K.2005.Managing Change and Innovation in Public Service Organizations.London: Routledge. Fulton, D.et.al. 2009. Foundations of Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Jasper, M & Jumaa, M.2008. Effective Healthcare Leadership. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Neno.R & Price, D.2008.The Handbook for Advanced Primary Care Nurses .New York: McGraw-Hill International. Slack, T & Parent, M.M.2005.Understanding Sport Organizations: The Application of Organization Theory .Ed:2.Illinois: Human Kinetics. Stanley, D.2011.Clinical Leadership: innovation into action. Banyo Queensland: Australian Catholic University. Swanwick, T & McKimm, J.2011. ABC of Clinical Leadership. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Read More