Leadership and Management in Professional Practice - Essay Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Leadership and Management Course: Introduction It has been exciting learning about leadership in professional practice. The need for leadership skills in any given profession is undisputed. We all require leadership skills and to grow mentally strong to be able to handle certain situations in our practices as leaders and not as mere followers. Leaders shape the vision of an organization and contribute to realization of organizational goals and objectives (Wiseman & McKeown, 2010). The aim of this assignment is to appraise my own leadership style and behavior and explore strategies that I can use to enhance leadership development and personal growth. Bad leadership can ruin an organization while effective leadership can realize tremendous growth of the organization. Throughout my course I have learnt it is important to have both leadership and management skills in order to pursue successfully a career in healthcare fraternity. Change management in healthcare organizations is effected by groups and teams led by able leaders (Lemieux-Charles & McGuire, 2006). In this reflection I use the Gibbs reflective cycle since it gives me the opportunity to express my feelings and judgment about situations and provide relevant conclusions that will help be in my future career. I commence by reflecting on leadership while evaluation my own leadership behavior and style and I proceed to discuss strategies that I can use to encourage personal growth and leadership development. Discussion Reflection models are important for self evaluation and personal development. The reflective concept revolves around the perception of lifelong learning whereby a practitioner analyses his personal experience for the purpose of learning more from them. It is through experience that we learn. It is important to link the purpose of actions that is expected and what we did during the reflection. Reflective practice enables us to engage in continuous learning in whatever development program we are engaged in. reflective concept is important for career development particularly in healthcare setting (Walsh & Smith, 2006). Reflective practice is crucial for healthcare professional since it ensures there is lifelong learning. Leadership can be explained as the effort of an individual when directing the activities of a particular group towards a certain shared goal. The important aspect of leadership comprise of influencing group activities and the ability to cope with change. It is challenging when looking at leadership among healthcare professionals since most theories were not developed within the healthcare setting but were often developed for business circumstances and later applied to healthcare (Almgren, 2007). Some leadership initiatives may not bring improvement in organizational outcomes or patient care when used in the healthcare environment. Leadership theory is often dynamic and continues to evolve over time. Contingency and situational theories from 1950 to 1980 acknowledged the significance of considering the needs of the worker, task performed and the work environment. Healthcare systems are made up of various professional groups, specialties and departments having intricate, nonlinear interactions between them. Consequently the complexity of such a system is usually unparalleled owing to the constraints concerning the different disease areas, multidisciplinary staff, and multidirectional goals (Al-Touby, 2012). Leadership has to capitalize on the diversity in the organization as a whole and effectively utilize resources while designing management processes whereas encouraging personnel to work towards shared and common goals. Various leadership approaches can be used in the healthcare setting for the purpose of optimizing management in the highly sophisticated and complex environment. Leadership is very important in professional practice for career development and effective accomplishment of functions. Leadership enhances the achievement of organizational goals since workers can be influenced towards a certain direction (Clark, 2008). Effective leadership leads to improvement of patient care and realization of organizational goals. Leadership theories play an important role in professional practice since they enhance decision making and accomplishment of various functions in healthcare setting. Professional practice needs blending of various leadership theories in order to achieve desired results or goals. Participative leadership theories are whereby other people are involved or taken into account. Contributions and involvement from the team members is highly encouraged. Team members are helped to feel more committed and connected to the process of decision making. The leader has to remember the right to permit information of other people (Barbour, 2007). Participative leadership gives people a sense of belonging in the organization. Transaction theories of leadership is based on management tasks, applies trade-offs in meeting goals, role of organization, supervisions and group performance. These theories of leadership are founded on the system of achievement, as well as penalty that is inflicted. Organization goals can be achieved with effective application of transaction theories of leadership. Transformational theories of leadership are also referred to as relationship theories. It is building a relationship that develops between the follower and leaders and points out the common values. It creates as well as it motivates a feeling in people though assisting group members focus on the importance and value of a task (Byrne, 2007). Much attention is given on the group members’ performance. Concentration is given to the group members’ performance. My leadership behavior and style Being a leader who aspires to grow in my professional carrier I embrace certain kinds of leadership styles that result in the growth on an organization and realization of organizational objectives. I believe in collaborative leadership. A leader is not an island and he needs the support of other members of the organization to grow and realize the objective of his leadership. Collaboration is a cooperative and assertive process that happens when individuals work together towards a common goal that involves organizational symbiosis (Jones & Murphy, 2007). Collaborative leadership entails giving information to coworkers and other associated organizations through effective communication to give them a chance to make their own informed decisions. It will be easier to work in an environment where my fellow workers are informed (Bush, Glover & Harris, 2007). Collaborative communication strategies lead to enhancement of healthcare management by encouraging dialogue among multiple stakeholders; sharing experiences and knowledge; and mitigating the degree of complexity in healthcare organizations. Through such leadership strategies I will understand the needs of employees and understand how to motivate them to deliver more in their area of specialization. Healthcare leadership that involves collaboration needs a synergetic work environment whereby multiple parties work together to ensure implementation of effective processes and practices (Oreg, 2003). I am a firm believer in transformational leadership traits. Leadership is not only transactional that involves focus on supervision, organization, as well as group performance. Transformational theory compels leaders to communicate their vision in a way that is meaningful, exciting and creates collective purpose and unity. A transformational leader relates to a manager who has vision is committed and able to empower followers (Department of Health, 2007). Transformational leader traits enable a leader to motivate performance among workers to surpass expectations through the ability of influencing attitude. I will love to leave the organization better than I found it and using transformational leader traits I can achieve my goal. I have to influence followers in the organizations to realize the long term objectives. Conflict management skills are important in professional career. Despite the beauty of collaborative working practices, very little involve collaboration in healthcare organizations. Conflict is a present force in healthcare organizations due to communication gaps that occasion failure. Sources of conflict in organization include poor communication, individualistic behavior, inter-group conflicts and organizational structures (Collins & Holton, 2004). In resolving conflict I might employ mediation, seeking consensus, negotiation/bargaining, and facilitating communication depending on the nature of the conflict. I have to know how to resolve disputes within the organization. Studies have demonstrated that autonomous healthcare workers having direct responsibility for their patients respond negatively to authoritarian leadership. Leadership has to focus on developing effective collaborative relationships through task delegation and support, and this is the foundation for dominant implementing of shared leadership models in the healthcare context since it enhances development of working relationships that are effective and continuous workplace learning (Clark, 2008). Shared leadership empowers staff in the processes of decision making. It provides the chance for individuals to develop and manage in a team and is effective at enhancing job satisfaction and the work environment. I am a democratic leader and often this has led to delay in decision making as I encourage debate and discussions before arriving at the final decisions. However through experience I have learnt that there are circumstances that will require me to have authoritarian qualities. I have to assertive sometimes and use the authority given to me to make the final decisions. in one incident we almost delayed to receive patients who had be involved in a terrible road accidents as members of my team kept debating who should do what. I had to come out strongly and issue instruction authoritatively in order to get desired results. I realized in emergency situations there is no time to involve participation of members as decisions have to be made as fast as possible. This incident taught me that I require further training to be more assertive in my decisions. I will ensure that work ethics are observed to the latter. Complying with environmental requirements and labor laws is the mandate of every organization leadership. There is a focus on the kind of organizations that have developing systems designed to deliberately promote learning by employees so that they can adapt to the demands of change or new strategy at work. Such systems will need higher performance and greater productivity. The learning matrix is usually the creation of the culture of performance and productivity like through reviews of performance and enhancing communication at the workplace (VanVactor, 2010). Although it is perceived that there is higher level of informal learning taking place owing to organizational change, systems are usually designed to promote learning as an integral part of organizational performance. I was taught coaching as being a way of enhancing clinical leadership skills within the context through placing people or students into real situations in which they go through at first hand the challenges that occur in a particular clinical context (Western, S., 2008). Coaching targets to improve leadership skills or resolving specific problems, it is normally an ongoing process as opposed to being a discrete event. Coaching entails learning and action but emphasizes on individual’s professional and personal goals, as well as interpersonal and intrapersonal skills like interpersonal communication and self-management (Barbour, 2007). As a nurse who has gone through coaching, it is effective it easier to identify and correct any impediments in my practice that interfere with my performance hence improving my personal and organizational effectiveness. My encounter through coaching has helped me to empathize and behave humanely towards patients in my career. My encounter with a cancer patient transformed my views about life and taught me to do by best when I have the opportunity. Innovation and change become unsuccessful in organizations not because the new goals or strategies are not appropriate but because organization are unable to implement them. Getting the benefit from change or a new strategy does not translate to reallocation of resources, provision of new technology, or reorganization of units; effective and efficient organizational change compel work groups and employees to change their way of doing things (Fielden, Davidson & Sutherland, 2009). Ideally if work groups and employees do not shift their manner of doing things, then implementing a new strategy becomes almost impossible. A large portion of the mandate of implementing change in health care organizations is bestowed upon teams and groups. Effective team dynamics relate to the team success. Work nowadays invaluably needs continuous focus on learning in order to enhance employees’ flexibility, to improve productivity, and to develop and turnaround organizations’ fortunes. The emphasis on workplace learning is not misplaced and more organizations are looking forward to equipping their employees with the competencies and skills needed to deliver on their job outcomes (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006). Leadership skills are vital for any employee who wants to grow the red tape of the organization hierarchy to its peak. Research demonstrates that the manager of a unit or a group influences the effectiveness and speed at which new processes can be implemented. Whereas senior level managers play a crucial role in identification and implementing of a new strategy, middle level managers in the organization using their influence on groups can either undermine or enhance the ability of the organization to implement change (Byrne, 2007). For instance, if middle level managers are against a strategy because it does not support their interests, they may participate in delaying implementation or totally sabotage the success of the change through subversive activities and misdirection. Consequently leadership is critical in health care sector and it needs all stakeholders and students to be passionate about being in leadership position at one point in their career within their organizations or assigned roles. Success of a new strategy is more likely to happen when middle level managers are involved and fully support it. In a single organization, choices made by an individual manager can have an impact on the speed at which units adjust to practices that support a new strategy (Goleman, Boyatzis & MacKee, 2003). Therefore, understanding the level to which the intangible factors in a group support the implementation will be affected by the leader appointed to head a particular unit that has to embrace the change. I am an eager to be an agent of change in an organization that I will work. It is crucial as a leader to demonstrate proven understanding of the healthcare system and the setting within which healthcare providers and managers operate. The application of interventions that are focused on service development and action oriented like coaching, mentoring and action learning have to be supported in development programmes of clinical leadership (Greig, Entwistle & Beech, 2012). Such interventions need longer-term commitment on the part of the organization and the individual. When using coaching, action learning and mentoring interventions the emphasis has to be on the everyday practice and current role of the participant and on assisting the participant to demonstrate and develop clinical leadership in such contexts (Department of Health, 2008). I have tried as much as possible to understand the healthcare system in order grasp the modalities entailing leadership growth in the sector. The dynamic environment compels me to have adequate qualities of leadership to manage in such situation. I will emphasize on following clinical guidelines so that I lead with integrity and focus. Modern day executives in all healthcare fraternities have to navigate a landscape that is full of complex political and social forces, comprising of persistent shortages of health professionals, shrinking reimbursements, prevailing calls for transparency, and endless prerequisite to apply safety and performance indicators. Moreover, leaders and managers are looked upon to deliver more using fewer resources (Garman et al, 2010). Without proper grounding and a sound background in leadership training, it becomes impossible for a healthcare professional to deliver on the outcomes documented by the organization that he or she works for. It is important for senior and mid-level managers to keep pace with the changing demands in the healthcare system as far as leadership capabilities are concerned. Students have to be adequately prepared to operate effectively in seemingly dynamic and sophisticated environment (Department of Health, 2008). The focus on measurable competencies and outcomes did not just occur as an accident. The prevalent acceptance of evidence-based medicine was a trigger to an evidence-based style to healthcare management. University programs focused towards a career in healthcare have to emphasize the need for leadership capabilities within the student fraternity. I have to be certain about the decisions I make in any organizational positions. Strategies to enhance personal growth and leadership development Leaders are always in circumstances that require them to make choices that with either negatively or positively affected the development of the organization. The essence of adequate leadership skills in my professional practice cannot be over-emphasized (Walsh & Smith, 2006). I need to develop leadership skills to enable me deal with different situations within and outside my career. Leadership refers to the ability to inspire and influence organizational and individual excellence, to create and attain a vision that is shared, and to successfully and effectively manage change in the attainment of the organization’s strategic ends and performance that is successful. Leadership goes hand in hand with management (Jones & Jenkins, 2006)). A good manager has great leadership skills. Management is being in a position to communicate concisely and clearly with external and internal customers, to maintain and establish relationships, and to occasion constructive interactions with groups and individuals. Current health care leaders and executives must possess management talent that is sophisticated enough to adequately match the escalating complexity witnessed in the healthcare environment. Executive are looked upon to demonstrate measurable outcomes together with effectiveness to practice management that is evidence-based (Reed & Bazalgette, 2006). Concurrently, professional and academic programs are stressing the importance of attaining competencies that are connected to effectiveness at the workplace. This move towards evidence-based management has led to several attempts to define the competencies that are most appropriate in the healthcare fraternity. Five main competencies domains that are dominant among healthcare managers that are practicing include business skills and knowledge, leadership, professionalism, knowledge of the healthcare system, and communication together with relationship management (Taylor, 2006). As a person who wants to make sure I grow in my area of professional work I have strategies that I contemplate that will make be grow personally and ensure leadership development. I do appreciate the use of coaching in our course study and through it I have come to appreciate the challenges that come with professionalism in the healthcare sector. In my profession in order to develop grounding in leadership I will volunteer in most cases that will need my services. Volunteering will give me a chance to learn through experience beyond even the coaching that was used in the course work. Leaders are usually described as being visionary, having strategies, plans, and an urge to direct their teams and services to a specific goal in future (Edmonstone, 2005). I have to use process-solving processes, develop group identification and maintain group effectiveness. I cannot acquire these multiple qualities if I do not engage in real work scenarios through volunteer work. I may join charity organizations that offer their services to the disadvantaged in the society before being employed to specialize in my trained profession in healthcare. I intend to find an organization where I will work as an intern and strive to get an excellent recommendation from director. A strong recommendation is a good indicator of a strong personality that one requires to be a good leader. Healthcare managers are given the positions of authority where they shape the healthcare organization through making important decisions (Jui-chen, 2005). Such decisions concern acquisition of technology, recruitment, staff development, spending and allocation of financial resources. I will engage in activities that will give me an opportunity to be in charge of groups and units. Conclusion Leadership is crucial in the healthcare sector considering the many challenges that comes with emerging trends in diverse environments. Students and all practitioners have to be prepared for leadership roles in the sector since change is effected through teams and units under the stewardship of leaders. As an individual I look forward to perfecting my leadership skills as I target to rise through the hierarchy of healthcare organizations to senior management levels. There are qualities that I have already acquired and I am putting in place measures to make sure that I improve my position as a leader. Healthcare management is that profession that offers leadership and direction to organizations that offer personal health services, and to departments, divisions, services, or units in those organizations. Understanding responsibilities, roles, and functions and functions performed by health managers is significant for those people considering the field in order to make informed decisions. I feel that college curriculum have to focus on developing leadership skills among students. Sophisticated and complex healthcare environment demand managers to have dynamic leadership qualities to navigate issues emerging in the field considering shrinking resources. 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