Order Number |
23435446871 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
A walk through the Business section of any bookstore or a quick Internet search on the topic will reveal a seemingly endless supply of writings on leadership. The formal research literature is also teeming with volumes on the subject
However, your observation and experiences may suggest these theories are not always so easily found in practice. Not that the potential isn’t there; current evidence suggests that leadership factors such as emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviors, for example, can be highly effective for leading nurses and organizations.
Yet, how well are these theories put to practice? In this work, you will examine formal leadership theories. You will compare these theories to behaviors you have observed firsthand and discuss their effectiveness in impacting your organization.
To Prepare:
Review the Resources and examine the leadership theories and behaviors introduced.
Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
By Day 6 of Week 4
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by explaining how the leadership skills they described may impact your organization or your leadership, or by identifying challenges you see in applying the skills described.
Colleague 1
The Impact of Leadership Behaviors in Creating Healthy Work Environments
In the healthcare sector, nurses remain the single largest profession with over 3 million nurses and therefore have valuable insights and unique abilities to make worthwhile contributions that will improve the quality and safety of the care they provide given that nurses spend the greatest amount of time providing bedside care to patients (Sfantou et al., 2017).
The future of redesigning healthcare systems, transforming organization workforce recruitment and retention and delivery of good health care services is dependent on nurses assuming good leadership roles needed for management skills to be effective (Laureate Education (producer), 2014).
According to Duggan et al., 2015, Civility is a trait that is positively perceived and associated with being a leader and enhances influence in building strong relationship skills and performance in a way that supports the collaborating team. Transformational leadership will be the focal point of this discussion amidst the many other leadership styles that exist.
A situation where leadership behaviors and skills used in practice was witnessed.
Transformational leadership refers to the kind of leadership whereby the leader and followers thrive to advance, support, inspire and encourage each other attain higher levels of motivation and morality (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
This leadership style is the most effective, visionary, and beneficial leadership style to achieve long term success, communicate high expectations to team members and a need for change, led by example and improve performance. One of the house supervisors at the health care organization, where I work leadership style is transformational.
Once, a nurse was condescending to an environmental services (EVS) staff in calling out the staff as lazy and unable to perform their job description in the presence of other staff members.
This nurse takes delight in making other staff especially new nurses feel inferior and worthless. The nurse supervisor happened to be rounding at the time of the event.
She immediately huddled on the importance of being respectful of everyone no matter their position or status as respect benefits everyone because it is reciprocated when given and foster commitment and engagement among employees.
The house supervisor proceeded there and then to have the nurse resort in a better way to have managed the situation by not reproaching the staff in the presence of others, but rather calling the person in a private area to find out what they could be going through and what could be the reason of their slow performance being termed.
As soon as this happened, the nurse realized that the EVS got sick at work but was pushing through to get the work done. The on-the-spot problem resolution shows how swift transformation leaders can be. The supervisor demonstrated traits that relies on referent and charismatic power.
The Extent to Which the Skills Were Effective and How Their Practice Impacted the Workplace.
The healthcare organization saw a great change with how effectively the house supervisor able to instigate the feeling of according to mutual respect to everyone. Employees attested to the fact that, they gain job satisfaction and maintain jobs where they are treated with respect than jobs that recognizes, appreciate, communicate inspired vision, and provide feedback (Johnson & Johnson, 2013).
The house supervisor came up with an anonymous comment box on how to improve team members, leaders, and the organization. An incentives program was also started for the most insightful critiques, will gain free registration to attend a course or conference of interest, gain extra time off, and public employee recognition.
This transformational leadership skill demonstration by the nurse supervisor helped in reforming and reshaping the behavior of the nurse who was condescending as regular honest feedback from other staff helped her hone her human contact skill approach.
Colleague 2
Leadership Theories in Practice
As a complex system, healthcare organizations need leaders who can inspire the entire team, enhance productivity, and help them achieve their goals. It is essential to have strong leadership in healthcare because every decision can profoundly impact the entire organization and patient population. Leaders face a lot of challenges and adversities in their daily work.
To be effective, healthcare leaders must have emotional intelligence, passion, dedication, and excellent communication skills to guide the organization in the right direction (Laureate Education, 2014).
Furthermore, healthcare leaders must have integrity, focus, excellent time management skills, and know when to delegate important tasks. According to Broome and Marshall (2021), leaders should understand the theoretical approach to leadership. Leadership theories are traits and behaviors that can help individuals become great leaders (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
Insights from Scholarly Resources
The notion of being a leader has transformed and evolved throughout the years. In the past, leaders were concentrated at the top of the organizational chain. Nowadays, everyone can develop their leadership qualities and skills and put them to positive use. Servant leadership is a theory that can help leaders become good leaders.
According to Robert K. Greenleaf, servant leadership is a “philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world” (Greenleaf.org, n.d.).
An article by Lumpkin and Achen (2018) further explains servant leadership and its relationship to ethical leadership and emotional intelligence. They noted that being a servant leader is about caring for others, convincing others to follow, understand the present, and see possible consequences of future decisions.
Furthermore, servant leadership and ethical leadership shared unique characteristics, including awareness, empathy, fairness, integrity, moral values, motivation, trust, relationship management, respect, and self-management (Lumpkin & Achen, 2018).
Another example of leadership theory that helps followers fulfill their goals is transformational leadership. Jambawo (2018) discusses the importance and influence of transformational leadership in healthcare. Jambawo stated that transformational leadership causes changes in individuals and organizations by creating valuable and positive change in their followers and the ultimate goal of transforming followers into leaders.
In addition, transformational leaders must possess moral and ethical behavior such as honesty, respect, and integrity to change organizational culture and make needed changes in people (Jambawo, 2018). More importantly, transformational leadership can impact the healthcare system in improving teamwork, patient outcomes, staff satisfaction, and retention of new nurses (Jambawo, 2018).
Leaders and their Leadership Behaviors
I work in a very stressful and busy level II trauma emergency department and encountered different nurse managers in 10 years. They all have a different styles, qualities, and temperaments. Martha is the kind of leader that exemplifies both servant and transformational leadership.
She is the most caring, humble, trustworthy, and fair manager I ever encountered. Martha constantly interacts with everybody in the unit, from technicians, janitors, nurses, and physicians. She listens to everyone’s concerns, suggestions and finds a reasonable solution to every challenge.
During a snowstorm in 2012, many of our staff had to stay in the hospital to ensure continuity of care. Martha works tirelessly to make sure that everybody has enough rest, food, and uniforms. She even brought her crockpot to cook freshly prepared meals. Martha shows up to daily huddles and allows the team to raise issues or concerns.
She creates a culture of trust in the unit by being transparent in every significant decision. She has an open-door policy that addresses issues sooner, often meaning the problem can be solved before it escalates. As a charge nurse, I always emulate her trait, skills, and abilities to become a good servant and transformational leader.
Impact of Leadership in the Workplace
Martha stayed being a unit manager for two years, but the impact and policies that she instituted remain. During her term as a manager, staff demonstrated excellent team dynamics, unselfishness, and effective patient care. In addition, staff in the department are committed and motivated; hence the moral and ethical values of the organizations are sustained.
Furthermore, employees show significant job satisfaction, resulting in decreased burnout, less nurse turnover, and improved patient outcomes. According to Broome and Marshall (2021), nurse leaders should advocate for health and dignity and has a remarkable impact on individuals’ performance towards achieving organizational goals.
Also, nurse leaders must evaluate their leadership styles and assess their competencies and skills to continuously nurture a work environment dedicated to delivering quality and safe patient care.