Clinical Leadership and Management in Nursing Assignment Sample

Leadership in Nursing

Effective leadership plays an important role in nursing and management (Banks et al., 2016). Nursing leadership has an important role in improving the quality of care and safety to patients in healthcare. The influential impact of nursing leadership promotes patient-centred and inclusive care to the patients. Multiple leadership styles can be followed to develop an environment of effective leadership. Some of these styles involve the transformational, democratic, autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles. Aim of the assignment is to differentiate between leadership and management while focusing on the application of leadership styles in nursing practice. The assignment will primarily discuss the difference between leadership and management. Then it will describe the four leadership styles with a focus on transformational leadership style. It will then discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the transformational leadership style. Further, the assignment will explain the effectiveness of the transformational leadership style in the nursing environment in addition to the qualities and behaviours that are required to undergo the transformational leadership style in healthcare settings.

According to Hoch et al. (2018), leadership is an attribute in which acute relationships are maintained among the leaders and the staff members. However, management is a process of planning, organizing and coordinating the staff members. Although good management is responsible for motivation, improvement and inspiration it lacks mutual support and coordination. On the same hand, effective leadership develop performance, enhance cooperation, coordination and motivation (Liphadzi, Aigbavboa & Thwala, 2017). Leadership is inclusive so it helps the staff members to identify and move toward the vision of success. However, management provides the resources and guidelines for enhancing productivity which ultimately guides the employees toward success (Liphadzi, Aigbavboa & Thwala, 2017). Management is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the employees in addition to the activities that are happening in the workplace.

However, leaders are included in the day-to-day activities of the employees. The leaders demonstrate, perform and help the employees on a personal level which increase their productivity. According to Zeng (2019), leadership is about inspiring and motivating the employees and management is about proper planning and implementation of the plans. The leaders are involved in activities that reward and praise the employees. However, the management is occupied in finding faults in the employees. It is important to have both strong leaders and strong management to undergo a successful flow of ideas (Azad et al., 2017). Praising for improvements are as necessary as scolding for faulty practices. Hence, an organisation needs to have proper management in addition to effective leaders. The basic difference between the leaders and managers are; managers give directions and leaders ask questions; managers have subordinates to work under them and the leaders have followers to work with them; and managers have good planning and ideas and the leaders have the capability of implementing good ideas (Azad et al., 2017).

Every nursing leader follows a different type of leadership style which guide their behaviour and plans. There are a total of four effective leadership styles that guide the practice of different leaders. These leadership styles involve the transformational leadership style, democratic leadership style, autocratic leadership style and the laissez-faire leadership style (Fiaz, Su & Saqib, 2017).

According to Fiaz, Su and Saqib (2017), the democratic leadership style takes input from the team members and include them in the decision making process. It asks for honest feedback from the staff members and give both positive and negative feedback when required. The transformational leadership style is another effective leadership style as it involves continuous development of both the leaders and staff members. The transformational leaders are focused on bigger goals such as increased patient care and improvised systems for care and management (Kaiser, 2017).

This form of leadership is effective in bringing holistic patient care in healthcare. The autocratic leadership style uses orders and directions to bring out the performance from subordinates. It is effective in simple and straightforward tasks that require adherence to strict guidelines in emergencies. The laissez-faire leadership style is opposite to autocratic leadership style as there are no orders on the staff members and they are left free to make choices (Kaiser, 2017). This approach is effective in case the team members are already experienced and talented.

The transformational leadership style is one of the most effective leadership styles for achieving nursing goals. Healthcare is a profession which requires multidisciplinary team actions, teamwork, and patient-centred care, holistic and effective care to the patients (Solà et al., 2016). The nursing leaders need to have set values, beliefs and ideas to attain the nursing goals. Transformational leadership is highly effective in achieving the healthcare goals of collaboration and cooperation. This is the most inclusive form of leadership style and it involves continuous learning and development in the staff members (Rastegar et al., 2019). The staff members are expected to undergo proper training and development to transform themselves and others in context to the healthcare goals and objectives.

The healthcare goals of holistic and patient-centred care can be achieved by motivation, continuous development, inspiration, and development of internal beliefs and values (Rastegar et al., 2019). The leadership style is involved in shared responsibility and supportive environment among the employees. The goal of multidisciplinary teamwork in the nursing units can be achieved by developing a supportive and collaborative environment through the transformational leadership style. The leaders motivate and encourage followers to accomplish their goals by appealing higher ideas and beliefs.

The transformational leadership style has several advantages as the leaders that follow this leadership style stands distinctly in the crowd (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). The transformational leaders can easily analyze the present situation of a healthcare department which can create a righteous vision of improvement and innovation. Transformational leaders can motivate the employees because of their enjoyable adventures and purposeful experiences (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). Transformational leaders can bring productivity gains and they can optimize the performance of the followers. This can enhance coordination and cooperation among the team members. The transformational leadership style can reduce the turnover cost of the organisation by engaging the employees in the work and motivating the employees to perform better with the available resources (Lorinkova & Perry, 2019). Transformational leaders can effectively create and manage change in the healthcare environment.

Although the transformational leadership style has several advantages they also have some disadvantages. The leadership approach cannot be used on employees that are free-spirited and who do not wish to work in multidisciplinary teams. The leadership style is very conceptual and it can also miss the focus of the task to educate the employees (Lorinkova & Perry, 2019). Some employees require an acute focus on the target and hindrance in the focus can distract them from success. Moreover, transformational leaders do not like to be bogged down with details. Organizations tend to undergo operational planning to achieve their vision. However, transformational leaders work without planning and management (Kark, Van Dijk & Vashdi, 2018). Presence of a leader can create pressure on the mind of followers. Increased expectations and constant pressure can lead to burnouts in the employees. The constant push to take pride in the company’s achievements and accepting the company’s culture and beliefs can demotivate the employees.

The transformational leadership style has a major role in the nursing environment. Transformational leadership is a style of nursing governance that inspires nursing staff to take control of their positions and succeed above aspirations (Boamah et al., 2018). Perhaps of allocating tasks from top to top, the transformational leadership encourages people to think and not simply do as they're instructed. Nursing managers that use the philosophies of transformational leadership develop an environment in which employees are more committed to their organizations and have elevated amounts of morality, work environment and work productivity (Boamah et al., 2018). Furthermore, this type of leadership is often correlated with retention of staff, which improves both workplace and patient health. The transformational leadership style is responsible for creating a positive work environment in the healthcare setting. The transformational leaders can develop confidence and loyalty among the staff members.

According to Einarsen et al., (2018), relationships and motivation among the staff can minimize conflicts and develop a positive environment for work and patient management. According to Almost et al., (2016), well trained, and loyal staff can result in a positive work environment which can lead to greater patient safety and wellbeing. According to Einarsen et al., (2018) one of the most important components of the healthcare environment is change. Changes in the processes can bring conflicts and mismanagement. However, transformational leaders are very capable of managing change. This can develop a positive work environment for the nurses and hence it can enhance their productivity.

Effective leaders display skills and behaviour including courage, enthusiasm, confidence, dedication and motivation. They nourish their follower's strengths and talents and create teams that are dedicated to shared interests. A visionary transformational leader has a clear understanding of where they need to go, how to reach there and how it appears to look like an accomplishment (Choi, Kim & Kang, 2017). Ensure that the leadership mission is explicitly and sincerely expressed so that the team knows that their small efforts relate to higher-level expectations. Working individually with dedication, courage and optimism toward the ambition can inspire and motivate others to do likewise (Choi, Kim & Kang, 2017). Setting the right standards for followers is the best way to create trust and give others appreciation.

Demonstrating the behaviour that the nursing leader wish to see in the followers can guide them toward the steps of success. To bring out the best from other employees, the nursing leaders should be considerate and focused toward their performance (Tang, 2019). They should be willing to portray maximum efforts to gain positive results from the employees. This means that nursing leaders must undergo self-development with the development of others to bring positive transformation. The nursing leader must exhibit the behaviour of integrity, empowerment, strength, strong will power, effective communication and effective decision making. Important leadership skill is the willingness to communicate simply, concisely, and effectively.

Communication requires more than just listening carefully and simply reacting to others. It also involves exchanging relevant knowledge, asking insightful questions, providing feedback and fresh ideas, specifying misunderstandings, and making it clear what a person wants (Tang, 2019). The best leaders always connect with their workers to encourage and motivate. Investing time to assess the talents, desires and goals of the followers can bring positive results. It can help a leader comprehend the best method to inspire the team, and also make them feel important.

In conclusion, leadership is an important management strategy that not only increases performance and productivity but also promotes employee engagement and satisfaction. Leaders are different than managers. The managers are involved in making plans and the leaders are involved in implementing those plans. Making and implementing plans within an organisation can bring up productivity and effective leadership can enhance that productivity. There are a total of 4 effective leadership styles. These styles involve the transformational leadership style, autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style and the laissez-faire leadership style.

Transformation leadership is highly effective in achieving collaborative and cooperative health-care goals. This is the most inclusive form of leadership style and involves ongoing learning and development within the staff. The healthcare goals of holistic and patient-centred treatment can be accomplished through encouragement, continuing growth, inspiration, and internal beliefs and values evolution. Transformation leaders can effectively create and manage changes in the healthcare environment and retain more workplace staff. But, in some employees, the leadership style may bring burnouts, excessive pressure and lack of motivation. The leaders must have effective communication skills, strengths, inspiring behaviour to bring the best out of people.

Reference

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