How to Handle the Different Personas, Term Paper Example

Pros and cons of my personal leadership style, comparing and contrasting characteristics of nursing theorists with leadership theorists

In identifying my personal leadership style, it would be correct to describe it as democratic. When a democratic approach leadership is adapted the persons who are being led participate in the decision making process. This is unlike an autocratic style where leaders make all decisions and subordinate staff is compelled to follow without questioning (Woods, 2010). A great example is when nurses are asked to discuss specific issues pertaining to improvement patient care. Each member of the team offers an idea and decisions are made from a culmination of ideas.

The optimal setting for  effective implementation of my personal leadership style is the clinical area or ward environment whereby a team of nurses are assigned patient care duties. Registered nurses are leaders in their own capacity of heading nursing teams in clinical settings such as intensive care or medical surgical environments. As a team leader opportunities are opened for demonstrating democratic leadership.

However, a nursing theorist with whom my leadership style could be compared is Ida Orlando (1972). She advanced a middle range theory with the assumption that leader-follower relationships are dynamic. Concepts embodying the theory are closely linked to democratic leadership in that there is shared decision making between leader and follower (Martindale, 2011). Essentially, the theory is known as one pertaining to the nursing process discipline. Her leadership perception was contained in the nurse patient relationship with the nurse being the leader and patient follower. The example given was one in which the patient appeared to have a need for help (Orlando, 1972).

Underlying that masked appearance was a desire for being respected, appreciated and valued as a human being. Within the dynamic leader follower process the leader nurse must demonstrate perception that uncovers the hidden need for help in the patient (Orlando, 1972). In my opinion this is associated with the democratic process whereby the follower could be anyone in the organization forming a team of workers. It is believed that the ‘who’ following makes the difference between a nursing leader and one outside of a healthcare organization (Woods, 2010).

A notable weakness of my personal leadership style pertains towards the tendency of throwing my leadership responsibility upon subordinate staff under the guise of leading from behind and the democratic process of participatory leadership. On many occasions it does not work out either because the persons are immatured in leadership or have a conflicting leadership style to mine. Consequently, a strategy, which could be adapted to strengthen this weakness, is first evaluating the person’s leadership skills before assigning any responsibility, which requires leadership interventions (Woods, 2010).

The application of leadership theory to staff members with varying levels of experience and age gaps would require a leader, as Ida Orlando’s (1972) theory advances, to use perception in the dynamic leader follower relationship. In case of the patient nurse conception of apparent need for help being interpreted at a deeper level, similarly, staff members become individual followers with need requirements to be perceived  by leaders (Orlando, 1972).

Consequently, the flow of leadership from positions of power in the work setting out into the community or vice-versa, in most instances there is a political or social administration influence with respect to policy.  Leaders communicate policy changes and concerns from leaders within organizations and they are transferred to community leaders (Woods, 2010).

One evidence-based practice article concerning nursing leadership was written by Duffy and colleagues. It pertained to Evidence-based nursing leadership: Evaluation of a Joint Academic-Service Journal Club. This article discusses the essentials of nursing leadership in joint ventures. It was discovered that there is very little study conducted on evidence-based nursing leadership. Besides, there has been limited application of evidence-based leadership in nursing practice (Duffy, Thompson, Hobbs, Niemeyer-Hackett  & Elpers, 2011).

Leadership influences change and change theory through the leader’s philosophy and charisma. Many changes theories advance that leaders are initiators of change. Change is the only constant in any relationship. Change is inevitable. Consequently, the style adopted could either build or destroy persons functioning in an organization (Wood, 2010).

As such, leaders who have adopted a leadership style whereby staff and patients realize that they are valued and appreciated these attributes influence quality improvement in the work environment. Some people seem to born leaders being motivators of people. For people to be motivated by a leader he she must be loved by followers. Besides, during the modeling process significant qualities must be demonstrated, which followers would like to emulate

Astute leadership is equipped with relevant strategies to manage conflict and its resolution. Once people of different cultural backgrounds, age groups and ethnicity mingle in a work environment conflict is inevitable. As such, the first step to management of conflict is limiting its occurrence in the workplace. Then when it does surface strategies must designed to address them from a specific to general perspective (Woods, 2010).

References

Duffy, J. Thompson, D. Hobbs, T. Niemeyer-Hackett, N., & Elpers, S (2011). Evidence-based nursing leadership: Evaluation of a Joint Academic-Service Journal Club. J. Nurs Adm, 41(10):422-7

Martindale, N (2011). Leadership Styles: How to handle the different personas. Strategic Communication Management 15 (8): 32–35

Orlando, I. J. (1972). The discipline and teaching of nursing process: An evaluative study. New York: G. P. Putman’s Sons.

Woods, A.P. (2010). Democratic leadership: drawing distinctions with distributed leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education 7 (1): 3–36.