Leadership Theories, Style, and Application, Coursework Example

Introduction

Leadership styles represent an approach to governance and personal experience that influence nursing outcomes in different ways. It is important to identify the leadership style that is appropriate for the designated staff and the unit under consideration. Many issues arise in the nursing practice setting that require a specific type of leadership style that will be most effective in solving specific problems as they arise. Therefore, the adoption of a leadership style must also consider the potential challenges that are likely to occur within a given practice environment. The following discussion will address a number of situations where specific leadership styles are beneficial in addressing common issues or concerns in a professional manner.

Analysis

Issues in the nursing work environment require leadership that is flexible and appropriate for a given circumstance. Some leadership styles do not necessarily align with problems that must be solved; therefore, it is essential for managers to exercise flexibility when they provide solutions to problems, and this is best accomplished by adjusting leadership styles or making changes as necessary. Different problems call for unique solutions under which a single approach is not always appropriate. Leaders must recognize these concerns and take the steps that are necessary to establish a leadership directive that will support effective problem-solving over the long term that will also have a positive impact on patient care. For the purposes of this discussion, three situations will be addressed and three distinct leadership styles will be considered in order to initiate discussion and to develop solutions effectively. The leadership styles include transformative, democratic, and authoritarian, and these will be considered in the following paragraphs.

For a situation involving a conflict between two staff nurses that has the potential to disrupt the quality of patient care, a transformative leadership style may be the most appropriate alternative to resolve the conflict in a peaceful yet productive manner. Transformative leadership allows a nurse leader to provide a collaborative environment to address a conflict and to resolve it in an effective manner. When conflicts occur in the workplace setting, there are likely to be serious complications if leaders do not intervene and attempt to resolve these solutions effectively (Malloy and Penprase, 2010). Therefore, it is necessary to exercise transformational leadership to resolve conflicts and to improve the psychosocial climate within the workplace setting (Malloy and Penprase, 2010). In this example, a transformational nurse leader also allows the nurses directly involved in the conflict to express their views, to address weaknesses, and to provide a vision for organizational improvement (Hutchinson and Jackson, 2013). In addition, the nurse leader is instrumental in enabling these nurses to recognize their core strengths and to take the steps that are necessary to expand their professional development in a productive manner to achieve successful results (Hutchinson and Jackson, 2013).

Establishing a new mentoring program to pair experienced nurses with newer nurses is likely to be successful with the use of a democratic leadership style, whereby there is an opportunity for staff nurses to work collaboratively with the nurse leader and to assume a larger role in developing a mentoring program that is practical and appropriate for their needs (Tomey, 2009). With this approach, it is possible to engage nurses in a dialogue and obtain their feedback regarding what they would like to see with the chosen mentoring strategy. By utilizing a democratic leadership style, it is possible for nurse leaders to empower staff nurses to make independent decisions that will have a positive impact on other nurses as well as patients (Tomey, 2009). These contributions also engage staff nurses in a participatory approach that has a positive impact on their satisfaction and contentment in the workplace setting (Tomey, 2009). There are considerable advantages offered under a democratic leadership style, particularly when nurse leaders share the wealth and recognize the importance of developing their employees through empowerment (Tomey, 2009). Nurse leaders working under a democratic leadership approach also impart their skills and knowledge to their employees in order to support their growth and maturity as nurses, while also considering the alternatives that are available to make the workplace more positive and meaningful, not only to nurses, but also to patients to meet their needs (Tomey, 2009).

With the democratic leadership style, it is also possible to expand the scope and significance of evidence-based practice approaches that have a positive impact on patient care and related outcomes (Twycross, 2011). Under these circumstances, nurse leaders provide an environment in which staff nurses become empowered and are able to actively contribute to their nursing units in a positive manner that will also lead to greater quality of care for patients (Twycross, 2011). It is essential, therefore, that nurse leaders focus on the benefits of evidence-based practice methods in expanding the quality of care for patients and in providing additional training and guidance in supporting favorable outcomes over the long term (Twycross, 2011). These conditions support a continuous learning curve that will engage nurses in their roles and motivate them to perform at a higher level (Twycross, 2011). Under a democratic leadership style, it is also evident that nurses will possess the ability to use existing evidence in order to promote process improvements and other strategies to ensure that their patients are protected from unnecessary risk or harm at all times (Twycross, 2011). These contributions provided by nurse leaders represent a means of supporting the growth and development of their fellow nurses in a positive manner (Twycross, 2011).
In a situation involving the management of financial reimbursement and patient outcomes, there is perhaps a different approach that some nurse leaders might take in order to accomplish these objectives. In many healthcare organizations, patient financial services leadership often adopt a more traditional approach to doing business, which reflects the utilization of an authoritarian approach, whereby there is little room for flexibility and creativity, and healthcare is treated as a business rather than paying attention to patient care quality (Currie and Lockett, 2011). From this perspective, much of nursing practice is dependent upon a strict and highly regimented approach to conducting business affairs, whereby little input is received from staff members because it is unwelcome (Currie and Lockett, 2011). In this context, it is likely that egocentric attitudes and beliefs are the norm and often take away from staff recognition and performance (Currie and Lockett, 2011). This leadership style poses an important challenge to healthcare leaders because it does not offer flexibility, thereby creating many potential challenges in the development of new perspectives to improve efficiencies, often making the decision to remain with the status quo, even if there are problems with these procedures (Currie and Lockett, 2011).

In many nursing practice settings, it is necessary to develop strategies that have a positive impact on patient care and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many nurses do not favor an authoritarian leadership style because it does not provide any real benefits to nurses in these settings and may often compromise the quality of patient care (Al-Sawai, 2013). In patient care settings, it is likely that an authoritarian style of leadership is ineffective because it does not permit any significant degree of flexibility, which is a key component of providing patient care in the wake of adversity and unforeseen circumstances (Al-Sawai, 2013). The efforts made by nurse leaders in this capacity must reflect a greater sense of freedom and an opportunity to share ideas that will improve patient care outcomes, rather than deter idea sharing and process improvements (Al-Sawai, 2013).Nurse leaders should reconsider an authoritarian approach to nursing practice because it is likely to be ineffective in contributing to high quality patient care and treatment at all times (Al-Sawai, 2013).

Conclusion

Nurse leaders possess a number of options with respect to establishing a leadership style that will meet the needs of staff nurses and of patients throughout a variety of healthcare environments. It is important for these leaders to consider their options and to make the best possible decisions that will have a positive and meaningful impact on nurses and on patient care. It is important to identify the different leadership styles and how they might provide a positive impact on patient care and overall nurse growth. For example, the transformative, democratic, and authoritarian leadership styles possess different characteristics and challenges for nurse leaders. A leadership style must be chosen carefully in order to accomplish the desired tasks within a given healthcare framework and in supporting the achievement of goals and objectives in the desired manner. Some leadership styles enable nurses to reach out to their staff members and to take the steps that are necessary to create a positive work environment that fosters collaboration and growth in different ways. With the authoritarian approach, however, it is likely that there will be a number of inefficiencies that are passed down to the staff without any degree of flexibility in decision-making. As a result, nurse leaders must demonstrate their knowledge and skills by selecting a leadership style that supports their own professional growth, along with the growth and achievement of their fellow nurses in a collaborative and mutually beneficial work environment.

References

Al-Sawai, A. (2013). Leadership of healthcare professionals: where do we stand? Oman Medical Journal, 28(4), 285-287.

Currie, G., and Lockett, A. (2011). Distributing leadership in health and social care: concertive, onjoint or collective? International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), 286-300.

Hutchinson, M., and Jackson, D. (2013). Transformational leadership in nursing: towards a more critical interpretation. Nursing Inquiry, 20(1), 11-22.

Malloy, T., and Penprase, B. (2010). Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment. Journal of Nursing Management, 18, 715-725.

Tomey, A.M. (2009). Nursing leadership and management effects work environments. Journal of Nursing Management, 17(1), 15-25.

Twycross, A. (2011). Leadership is key to ensuring evidence is used in practice. Evidence Based Nursing, 14(2), 31.