Post two key insights you had from the scholarly resources you selected. Describe a leader whom you have seen use such behaviors and skills, or a situation where you have seen these behaviors and skills used in practice. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain to what extent these skills were effective and how their practice impacted the workplace.
Leadership Theories
One of the keys to outstanding leadership lies in getting those we try to lead to follow. Marshall and Broome (2021) lay out theories of leadership. Unfortunately, I have personally experienced many of them, from the authoritarian Theory X, situational style, the path-goal approach, and servant leadership. I find that the one which gets the best response from those I have worked with is Servant Leadership. When the leader wants to serve others rather than gain power, those being led gain empowerment and motivation (Marshall & Broome, 2021).
Leadership Style
Leadership should be concerned with the outcome and the ethical effect on the workers (Nguyen et al., 2021). Many studies have been done on the impact of ethical leadership on performance and organizational accountability. It has been shown that an organization that exhibits ethical leadership is seen in a better light than those whose leaders do not display these traits (Nguyen et al., 2021). Ethical leadership can and should be a component of other leadership styles.
Al Khajeh (2018) states that the desirability of leadership styles is a function of the desired outcome from the organization. Transactional and charismatic leadership have been shown to be the most effective in many settings (Al Khajeh, 2018). In my opinion, these two styles blend into the servant style of leadership to achieve maximum buy-in from the followers.
Impact of Leadership on the Workplace
I have had experience with many leadership styles as both the leader and the follower. I have used differing leadership styles depending on the situation and desired outcome. When working in the Emergency Department, I used the techniques taught me in the military: do what I say, do it now, and do NOT question me. I realize that this autocratic style of leadership does not garner acceptance from my staff, but I only used it when life was on the line and time was of the essence. Running a code on a cardiac arrest is not the time to obtain buy-in from all in the room.
My usual way of leading my staff is through a combination of servant and transformational leadership styles. I will work with my staff to create a feeling of team. I will show them the respect they have earned by walking the same healthcare path I have. I support my nurses when they need it and give them the space to make decisions independently. I have seen where this combination achieves the desired organizational outcomes as well as empowers my staff to succeed on a daily basis. This has led my team to exceed the expectations of my supervisors at every turn.
Conclusion
In my experience, there is no one perfect leadership style. One must take into account the people you are working with, the desired outcome of the actions, and the timeframe being worked in. The leader must treat the employee with respect and humanity. If one does this, the employee is happier, and the outcomes improve for all.
Leadership Theories
There are several theories in the field of leadership, depending on personalities and the business, some theories work better than others in leadership. In healthcare, many personalities make up the diverse field so trying to find a leadership style that works for everyone is a task that can be tedious and exhausting for leaders as well as staff. The historical overview of leadership theories starts with the management theories developed during the industrial revolution that focus on productivity; next, behavior or trait theories developed around the mid-20th century which shifted from organizational type leadership to focus more linear , compartmentalization, functional work process orientation, clear and fixed job requirements, and predictable effects; examples include worker style theories and leader trait theories; then, we move to the situational/contingency and constituent theories that focus the leadership style around the behaviors of the workers; last, transformational leadership which focuses on influencing others by changing the understanding of others of what is important (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
Leadership Style and Work Environments
The first study focused on the link between leadership style and structural and measurable outcomes in intensive care units during the outbreak of COVID-19 (
Leadership Theories
Leaders must be grounded in a set of core values or ethics that guide their actions. There are many leadership theories and styles. For example, there are behavioral and trait theories that focus on people over the organization and promote linear thinking, functional work, and clear job requirements. There are also worker-style theories that moved the focus to the concept of leadership leading to styles such as authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. Lastly, leader trait theories focus on the leader themselves learning and developing their emotional intelligence to be effective (Broome & Marshall, 2021). All of these theories have merit, but evidence suggests there are certain actions leaders do that promote healthy working environments.
Leadership Style and Work Environments
A systematic review was conducted to determine the relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction, commitment, and performance. The studies reviewed show that transformational leadership, which involves effective communication and individualized consideration, has a strong positive effect on job satisfaction and performance. Likewise, authentic and resonant leadership styles showed similar outcomes. Similarly, perceived respect and staff involvement during decision-making promoted positive outcomes as well (Specchia et al., 2021). This study suggests that certain leadership traits and styles promote a healthy work environment.
Another study was conducted to determine which leadership styles are effective in organizational performance as a whole. This study found that transformational, autocratic, and democratic leadership styles had a positive influence on organizational performance. On the other hand, transactional, charismatic, and bureaucratic leadership styles had a negative influence on organizational performance (Khajeh, 2018). This study suggests not only that certain leadership styles have a positive influence, but that some leadership styles can actually negatively impact an organization.
Leadership in Practice
Throughout my nursing career, I have had four or five different supervisors and leaders. One of my leaders was very authoritarian in nature and micromanaged every aspect of her subordinates’ day. Likewise, she would give people write-ups in their performance log which could affect their performance evaluation. This created a very toxic work environment where employees were not motivated to do their job. In contrast, my current supervisor has a mix of authentic and transformational leadership styles. He genuinely cares about his employees and their career development, he helps out and works late when needed, and he encourages shared-decision making. Even though my current work environment is very stressful, his leadership style has created a very supportive atmosphere.
Conclusion
The evidence suggests that leadership styles such as transformational, autocratic, democratic, authentic, and resonant have positive outcomes on job satisfaction, commitment, individual performance, and organizational performance. It is clear that leadership styles that value the individual workers’ development, honesty, and shared decision-making are superior to those that value the organizational procedures and processes and those that are authoritarian in nature.
Leadership Theories in Practice Reflective Report
Over my nursing career, I have worked with several leaders who demonstrated emotional intelligence and transformational leadership qualities. While considering the impact of these qualities on the workplace, one leader, in particular, comes to mind. Sarah, my charge nurse, possessed high emotional intelligence and transformational leadership qualities. Sarah’s ability to remain calm and composed in stressful situations is evidence of her emotional intelligence (Overby, 2019). She would approach every issue with empathy and understanding, putting herself in the shoes of patients and staff members to better understand their points of view. This ability aided in the reduction of tensions and the creation of a positive work atmosphere.
Sarah also demonstrated transformational leadership qualities in her ability to inspire and motivate her workers. She consistently articulated a clear vision and established high standards for her staff. She would also attempt to understand each staff member’s goals and aspirations by getting to know them personally. This individualized approach aided in instilling a sense of ownership and accountability among the team (Moore Foundation, n.d). Sarah’s leadership abilities made a significant difference in our company. Secondly, her ability to remain calm and composed in challenging situations helped to lessen staff tension and worry. As a result, the team’s communication and teamwork improved. Furthermore, her emphasis on building a healthy work atmosphere promoted a sense of community among employees, enhancing job satisfaction and reducing staff turnover.
Furthermore, Sarah’s transformative leadership behaviors significantly impacted employee motivation and performance. Sarah contributed to the team’s sense of purpose and direction by clearly conveying a vision and setting high standards. This, paired with her customized approach, aided in instilling a sense of accountability and ownership among employees (Duggan et al., 2015). As a result, our team routinely outperformed expectations and delivered high-quality treatment to our patients.
In conclusion, I have witnessed the efficacy of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership in healthcare administration. The leadership abilities of Sarah had a tremendous impact on our workplace, enhancing communication, collaboration, job happiness, and employee performance. It is apparent that these talents have real implications in the workplace and are not merely academic concepts. I believe that firms that prioritize developing these talents in their leaders will have an advantage in attracting and maintaining high-performing employees.
Leadership Theories in Practice
Leaders are those who exert authority and persuade others to follow them. The qualities of a successful leader include the ability to instill trust and motivate followers to take action. The importance of emotional intelligence in making a good leader is becoming more widely acknowledged. Leaders with emotional intelligence are self-aware, able to control their emotions, empathetic, and skilled at building and maintaining relationships (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
Leadership Insights
Leadership styles and their effects on organizational effectiveness are the focus of Al Khajeh’s research. Only six leadership styles (transformational, transactional, democratic, charismatic, bureaucratic, and autocratic) were discussed. Organizational performance was positively affected by transformational, autocratic, and democratic leadership styles while negatively affected by transactional, charismatic, and bureaucratic leadership styles in the studied organizations. This research shows that different leadership styles have varying impacts on organizational performance (Al Khajeh, 2018).
Compared to task-focused leadership, relational leadership is associated with better outcomes for the nursing workforce and related organizational outcomes, according to the results of a Cummings et al. (2018) systematic review. Critical implications for healthcare organizations to support relational leadership practices for improved nursing staff outcomes and client care are drawn from this review, which shows that nurse leaders can positively affect the health and well-being of their nurses through such practices (Cummings et al., 2018).
Effective Leadership and its Impact on the Workplace
My managers have provided me with transformational and rational leadership throughout my nursing career. My first nursing position after nursing school was in neurology; to say I was intimidated would be an understatement. My nurse manager made it a point to meet weekly to discuss my work. She would make an effort to listen to my problems thoughtfully. She always made it a point to highlight the positive things I had done over the week and to find constructive ways to help me meet the obstacles I was presenting her; she always made me feel as if I could do anything. She did this with our entire unit and ensured that we were focused on achieving goals that would positively impact the unit while promoting evidence-based practice to ensure that our patients received the best possible treatment.
My current supervisor encourages growth and development by encouraging fresh ideas, learning about employees’ strengths and areas for improvement, launching projects to target those areas, implementing change strategies, and assessing the results. She excels at pinpointing the source of the problem and coming up with creative solutions. Due to her direction, we have maintained perfect CHAPS scores for over a year. Our workplace has seen significant transformations due to her leadership, and staff members now have the freedom they need to accomplish their jobs well.
Conclusion
The healthcare organization’s leadership is responsible for maintaining order and creating a long-term strategy. Training, communication, and leadership are essential for effectively developing the work culture. It has been demonstrated that leaders who continue to enhance their emotional intelligence have a favorable impact on healthcare companies. A good leader always considers how they may positively influence their staff and implement changes that benefit others.
Main Posting
An effective and competent leadership team should have knowledge and support quality improvement, consistently communicate missions and performance standards, and encourage participation in decision-making (Duggan, et al., 2015). I believe there is a difference between leadership and management. Managers control where leaders influence (Broome & Marshall, 2021). I have seen many different leadership and management styles over the course of my nursing career, and I have also been a part of a leadership team. My style was always to stand by my staff, weather the storms with them, and never use my authority over them.
Key Insights from scholarly resources
A strong leader is defined by the way they impact their staff, not their position of authority (Bonatch, n.d.). A person in the position of management should not just focus on using their authority. I think this creates more tension from the staff towards management. The staff doesn’t want to feel like just a number, they want their voice to be heard. One of the biggest factors that influence nurse retention and maintaining a positive work environment is shared governance. Leaders should allow their staff to have a voice and provide an environment that makes them feel like their voice is heard (Dans & Lundmark, 2019). This is another way to foster a positive work environment. Leaders should allow their staff to express themselves without consequences. Many places I have worked, most staff don’t want a manager hovering over them, they want a leader to show them the way. They want to feel as though their presence means something. This is how you retain staff and maintain a healthy workplace.
Leadership in Practice and its Impact on the Workplace
One leader that I have seen use a positive leadership style and focus on creating and maintaining a positive work environment was a unit manager in the emergency department I worked for. She consistently met with staff on a weekly basis to seek suggestions, inform us of staffing changes and policy updates, and allowed the staff to have a voice for the unit. When a new policy was adopted and sent out to staff, she made sure to have a presence on the unit to see how the new policy was working. She was the voice between the staff and upper management with new ideas, suggestions, and barriers to practices and policies. I believe this is a true leadership style. Her style showed the difference between someone leading a department and someone just managing a department. There was very little turnover with nurses and the unit retained a lot of the seasoned nurses because she allowed us to work alongside of her.
I was a nursing supervisor in a medical department for a correctional facility. I frequently would look to my husband for leadership strategies and advice on how to handle certain situations because he gained a lot of leadership experience in the Army. He gained the respect of his soldiers and in return he was able to carry out protocols and give orders without any resistance. He showed his soldiers that he stood with them and wasn’t just an authority over them. I took a lot of his advice and what I learned from my previous nurse manager and use those skills with the nurses I supervised. Having a good leader with jobs isn’t just about that present time, it can carry with your staff throughout their career like mine did. I had some resistance from staff when I first started that supervisor position. It wasn’t until I showed the staff that I wasn’t there to use my authority over them, but to stand by them and maintain a healthy workplace. I frequently would listen to their concerns or suggestions and be their voice to upper management. This was when I started to gain their respect and trust. Shared decision making and advocating for your staff is just one trait a good leader should have.
Leadership Theories in Practice
Effective leadership is integral in the nursing profession as a strong leader correlates to quality care for patients (Sfantou et al., 2017). There are six main styles of leadership seen in the nursing field that all have their own pros and cons. The purpose of this discussion post is to describe leadership behaviors and skills I have seen firsthand and to explain their effectiveness and impact in the workplace.
Leadership Behaviors and Skills
The most impactful leader that I have experienced while working in healthcare is my current Director of Nursing. I see many different styles of leadership being used by my director. She has a combination of behaviors and skills that align with transformational, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented leadership. I think the reason she has been successful in this position is the fact that she takes the pros from multiple different leadership styles and forms them into one. This creates variety and combinations of the best aspects of these leadership styles that the staff is most receptive to. Our book mentions the importance of emotional intelligence, writing that emotional intelligence creates self-awareness and provides a leader with the skills to be able to control their own emotions, though they are still empathetic, being able to build and maintain relationships with staff (Broome & Marshall, 2021). A specific example of this is when the unit was consistently short-staffed. A lot of nurses were burnt out after COVID and the morale of the unit was very low. Different managers had come and gone and eventually left the unit with no manager and no charge nurse. The Director of Nursing took this time to become more available and present in our unit with the goal to make changes and motivate staff members. She was much more present in the nursing station and scheduled one on one meetings with each staff member to check in and see how each person was being impacted. She acts as a mentor to many staff members and through the combination of leadership styles, is approachable and understanding to her employees.
Effective Leadership
The combination of transformational, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented leadership styles proves effective from the example mentioned above. Specifically, transformational leaders have effective communication skills, charismatic influence, and individualized consideration that they use to optimize the results of shared goals (Specchia et al., 2021). These types of leaders improve morale and increase job satisfaction scores by motivating staff to be able to do more than they initially thought they could (Specchia et al., 2021). The task-oriented leader plans work activities, clarifies role descriptions, and sets objectives while monitoring progress (Sfantou et al., 2017). This type of leadership is very effective when it comes to the completion of changes and tasks in the unit. The relationship-oriented leader combines support, development, and recognition (Sfantou et al., 2017). This leader has a great rapport with the staff and is approachable and understanding of employees’ needs. The Director of Nursing at my healthcare facility incorporates all three of these styles of leadership as well as emotional intelligence to effectively lead our unit. The workplace is an enjoyable and positive place due to this.
Conclusion
In conclusion, since there are many different styles of leadership, a nurse leader must choose to lead their staff in a way that is effective and received well by the unit. There are upsides and downsides to each leadership style and a combination of some have shown to provide desired results. The nurse leader should act with emotional intelligence as this has been revealed to be key to maintaining effective relationships. Overall, each unit will have different needs and the nurse leader should adapt their leadership style accordingly.
Often, we try to understand why some individuals become leaders. Leadership is often considered an admirable position to take on; however, not everyone can take on the role of a leader. Leadership takes skill, hard work, and commitment, and people that take on the part are seen as powerful and know what they are about. Great leaders should be positive and radiate such energy that boosts their team morale and productivity; they should have a proactive attitude and exudes behaviors that take on a problem-solving approach and work hand in hand with their team to achieve a common goal. Great leaders are emotionally intelligent; they delegate tasks appropriately, understand that not all tasks can be done alone, and trust their team to do the job. According to Broome & Marshall (2021), Emotionally intelligent leaders are adept at managing their emotions, self-aware, sympathetic, and understand the meaning of maintaining and building relationships. They are open to criticism, can regulate emotions, and think before acting.
Leadership Insights
This study examined how transformational leadership impacts employee behavior, burnout, and job outcomes. According to Khan et al. (2020), four things are necessary for transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspiring motivation, brain-stimulating ideas, and individual care. This study demonstrates that transformational leadership increases employees’ intrinsic motivation by improving their connections, helping them think positively about themselves and their work, and fostering fair, respectful, and encouraging cultures (Khan et al., 2020). The study further showed that employees are more productive and efficient under transformational leadership because intrinsic motivation is increased, and the leadership encourages intrinsic motivation, leading to less burnout and increased motivation. Intrinsically motivated employees were likelier to work hard and participate in the organization. Social loafing and transformational leadership have a strong negative correlation, while their indirect connection through intrinsic motivation is insignificant.
Another study aimed to investigate the relationship between transformative leadership, organizational innovation, psychological problems, employee creativity, and performance in SMEs in Pakistan. The study showed that challenge stresses, transformational leadership, and employee inventiveness positively and significantly impacted employee performance. According to Nasir et al. (2022), organizational innovation, challenge stressors, and transformational leadership styles can inspire employees to nurture creativity. Employee creativity also enhances employee performance.
Leadership in Practice
Throughout my nursing career, I have had the opportunity to work with many leaders with various styles. Some were authoritative, laissez-faire, transformational, and democratic; however, the Leader that resonated with me the most was the one that used the transformational leadership style. A leadership approach known as transformational leadership focuses on assisting team members in supporting one another and giving them the encouragement, direction, and support they need to work hard, perform well, and remain obedient. It creates good changes in those who follow (Cherry, 2023).
After working with Althea for over five years, I was empowered to provide the most excellent nursing care to all my patients. Even when absent from work, she supported her team because she was the kind of Leader who was constantly engaged. She made the workplace more fun and exciting; even when things changed, she always saw the positive side of things. She never passed judgment, and whenever mistakes were made, she was ready to assist her team in resolving them and learning from them. When I first began my nursing career and worked with her, she offered me the chance to develop and think for myself; she never made me feel inferior to any of her more seasoned nurses. Her team’s development and growth were always priorities, and she was frequently willing and ready to assist. She constantly motivated me to work hard and achieve the most excellent possible outcomes for my profession; ultimately, she gave me the drive I needed to desire to be the best nurse I could be.
Conclusion
As a result of my experience working with a transformational leader and the positive effects she had on my career and the company where I previously worked, I believe that if all leaders possessed these qualities, it would not only improve the care we give to patients but also boost team morale and encourage nursing advancement. We should select leadership trajectories that will make us feel comfortable as current and future leaders in the nursing profession. We should ensure we provide the utmost support for the benefit of our team, avoid bias and showing any favoritism, and strive to be the best and most encouraging leaders we can be.
The satisfactory performance of a healthcare organization and orchestrated actions of the staff directly depend on administration, managers, and leading nurses’ leadership abilities. Duggan et al. (2015) noted that leadership is one of the administrative evidence-based practices domains, alongside “workforce development, partnerships, financial processes, and organizational culture and climate,” that ensures successful healthcare organization function. The authors outlined the broad spectrum of leadership qualities that incorporate leaders’ skills and background, values and expectations, such as “support of quality improvement, national performance standards, evidence-based decision making, innovation,” employee involvement, and broad staff participation in “non-hierarchical decision-making” (Duggan et al., 2015, p.2). The ability to involve staff in organizational decision-making and development is one of the transformational leadership attributes. Marshal and Broome (2021) pointed out that transformational leaders “influence others by changing the understanding of others of what is important” (p. 15). Additionally, transformational leaders set up “high expectations with a sight toward the desired future […] and instill others with optimism, a sense of meaning, and commitment to a dream, goal, or cause” (Marshal & Broome, 2021, p. 17).
One key insight of the transformational leadership style is to develop the staff’s ability to act proactively, applying wisdom and trying to prevent worsening the situation before it starts. McCormick et al. (2019) pointed out that the contemporary, complex environment of healthcare organizations demands employees’ ability “to exhibit proactive behaviour in order to successfully achieve both individual and organizational outcomes” (p. 31). The authors stressed that “a positive relationship exists between transformational leadership and proactive behaviour,” which is, in turn, “related to numerous positive outcomes such as career satisfaction and success, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance (overall, task, and contextual), psychological empowerment, perceived autonomy, self-efficacy, and organizational knowledge” (pp. 35, 33). For example, when I started working as a nurse novice in a long-term care facility, I encountered multiple situations where an insightful approach would have helped prevent unfavorable or adverse conditions. My nurse supervisor and mentor at that time cultivated a strong habit for me to start the shift with rounds and assess more thoroughly all patients that I consider unstable or suspicious at first sight and then circulate often in the ward with routine rounds, keeping all patients in the eyesight. These strategies allow for determining patients with deteriorating conditions and hospitalizing them on time, avoiding code-blue situations. Additionally, this strategy greatly facilitated fall prevention and reduced the actual number of falls. Another proactive strategy I was taught is the lab review at the beginning of the shift in the search for critical lab values. If most lab tests can be reviewed with physicians at any time, critical lab values addressed at the beginning of the shift prevent patients’ rapid deterioration and induce timely treatment or hospitalization. Today, working in one of the leading positions, I coach nurse novices with the same principles of insight and proactivity.
|Another critical insight of the transformational leadership style is the ability to exercise emotional intelligence as an essential skill to balance professional yet trustworthy relations with colleagues and patients. Apore and Asamoah (2019) identified emotional intelligence skill as “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships” (p. 602). The authors stressed that emotional intelligence “is a skill that deserves to be given credence in nursing for its potential benefits to patient care and staff welfare” and “the ability of nurses to manage their own emotions and to understand those of their patients is an asset in providing care” (Apore & Asamoah, 2019, p. 602). I have witnessed the emotional intelligence skill of my direct supervisor on multiple occasions. For example, in constant staff shortage, when minimal staffing is scheduled for a shift, and somebody suddenly calls out, it creates an additional workload on remaining nurses and nursing assistants. If an assignment is allocated unevenly, the staff members caring for a greater number of patients demand a nurse supervisor to re-evaluate and change the assignment, often with increased and unnecessary agitation. Additionally, patients and their family members tend to express their frustration with prolonged call-light waiting time with raised emotions and voice tone. My direct supervisor appears very reasonable in any situation, able to listen to all parties, never talks back or argues, and is able to compromise or find temporary solutions.
The transformational leadership skills of proactive thinking and emotional intelligence create a more effective working environment, positively impact the workplace by making the working effort more efficient, and facilitate staff interactions and communication, which eventually reflects in patient care. The study conducted by Alwali and Alwali (2022) confirmed that “emotional intelligence is significantly and positively related to job performance,” which “implies that employees with greater emotional intelligence can perform their works effectively relative to employees with lower emotional intelligence” and “job satisfaction has a significant mediating role on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance” (pp. 941, 942). My direct nurse supervisor acts as a mentor and role model, transferring qualities of emotional intelligence and proactive thinking to her trainees. For example, in the long-term care facility, controlled drugs for pain management are not readily available in the house stock. A nurse needs to obtain a prescription from a physician, fax it to the pharmacy, and the pharmacy will deliver a package with medications the next day. When medication from this package is finished, a nurse has to start the procedure all over again, delaying pain management for a patient. Many nurse novices tend to deplete a medication up to the last pill, pushing the ordeal of obtaining the new package and communicating with the patient and family to the nurse on the next shift, which creates complete patient dissatisfaction since many residents recovering from surgeries, such as total hip or knee replacement, and require timely pain management. Additionally, this situation builds up tense relations between nurses of different shifts. To avoid similar issues, my direct nurse supervisor instructs new nurses to work proactively and reorder medications two-three days prior to their completion. Additionally, she encourages timely communication with physicians to describe the resident’s medical and surgical history, the current pain level, and obtain a needed prescription. Finally, she trains new nurses to communicate possible pitfalls between nurses in shift-to-shift reports, work on potential problems together, and act as a team, not as rivals, in providing direct patient care. Therefore, the approach of transformational leadership combined with proactive thinking and emotional intelligence significantly facilitates the working environment, improves patient care, enhances teamwork, and increases job satisfaction.
Theories
There are many kinds of leaders and ways to lead. Leadership is important in nursing because we need leaders to direct healthcare workers to help with patient care, clinical education, research, and administration. Leaders need to use their knowledge and skills to collaborate with other leaders in healthcare to help come up with solutions to the problems and changes that happen in healthcare every day (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Nursing leadership is very important in health care so that the decisions that are made are backed by evidence and so that there is representation for nurses in policy development (Kiwanuka et al., 2020).
Leadership Styles
A study I found studied different leadership styles that have had success in healthcare. Transformational leadership, considerate leadership, exemplary leadership practices, and trusted leadership styles have shown to have the most success. Transformational leadership is a desired and favored leadership style. Transformational leadership has been shown to retain nursing staff and shown to report nurses who favor their working environments (Kiwanuka et al., 2020).
Another leadership style that has been studied amount healthcare organizations is servant leadership. Servant leadership has been shown to decrease burnout amount nurses and increase job satisfaction. This leadership style focuses on empowering workers and encouraging employees to make decisions and receive recognition. Servant leaders focus on finding ways to decrease workload on employees and focus on teamwork (Westbrook et al., 2022).
Leadership I Have Experienced
The manager I have where I work currently in the peri-operative area, I believe uses a servant style of leadership. She encourages each of her employees to be active in committees. She has check in meetings with all of use individually quarterly to make sure if we have any concerns that we can voice them. We have employee voice surveys quarterly and she addresses each area that is scored low. I believe her style of leadership has been effective because we have retained the same staff for many years. We have nurses that have been in the department for 15 plus year
Key Insights
Leadership in nursing is vital, and the quality of it influences the satisfaction of the employees, the health of the employees, the environment, and ultimately turnover. Positive leaders in healthcare contribute to employees’ overall health and positive outlook on their job. It has been said that how leaders interact with their staff is more important than their ability. Transformational leaders are role models to their staff, challenge them to be better, add meaning to their work, encourage their staff to learn and add new ways to solve problems, are concerned about their staff’s needs, and are mentors (Vidman & Strömberg, 2020).
Nursing leaders can foster or be detrimental to work environments. Effective leaders set the tone for the culture in the unit for both the patients and the environment. In a workplace with effective leadership, leaders want their nurses to learn new things and develop skills to improve, and in the end, it creates smarter nurses and increases patient care. The organization needs to support the nurse leader by providing educational opportunities, encouraging good decision-making, recognizing them for a job well done, allowing them to staff units how they see appropriate, and allowing them the finances for a healthy environment. Nurse leaders clearly understand what a healthy environment looks like, set standards to create and maintain it, and are role models to their staff members (American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, n.d.). Nursing leaders are essential in health workplaces. They assist in developing new processes and promote the overall health of stressed-out nurses. Leaders concerned about completing the job will not receive the best patient outcomes (Cummings et al., 2018).
Leadership in Practice
The best example I have currently of a leader is our new nurse manager in the clinic. She has worked in clinics and surgery for years, but this is her first management position. She is always about doing the right thing in any instance I can think of. She fosters positive approaches to staff and patients. She has been an encourager for my education and has encouraged me to seek assistance when needed. She always appreciates staff being independent and allows us to do so. It is nice to have a manager you feel does not have a thumb on everything you do. Lastly, she is always concerned about the work environment and our comfort level and is available to debrief. In general, she is a wonderful human being, which is important in a managerial role.
How They Impacted the Workplace
The positivity for independence and autonomy flourishes in a lighter work environment, and having a manager available to help if we have any further questions is great. She demonstrates care for staff’s stress levels and mental health overall as she comes over on days that she knows we are busy and makes sure that she can’t help in any way and that we are doing all right. This helps boost our trust in a manager who cares about our stress levels and well-being. Not that it makes our jobs any easier, but we know she genuinely cares and is concerned. I feel as if the staff enjoys their job, the environment, and their coworkers because it is a positive environment where people are encouraged to learn and not shamed for their mistakes.
Two Key Insights into How Leadership Behaviors Create Healthy Work Environments
The leadership of your workplace can be the deciding factor of whether you see the organization as a long-term home in your career or just a stop along your career path. Although organizational objectives and values can affect the workplace, the person or persons that directly lead you and those around you can sponsor a healthy or health-oriented work environment. Two key insights regarding the role of leadership and leadership behaviors in the curation of a healthy work environment is that it is not enough to just have leadership physically present, but the quality of that leadership greatly affects the workplace, and that leadership should be dynamic and specific to the context of the specific environment as well as healthcare overall in this instance.
Overall, quality of leadership and leadership behavior affect job satisfaction, turnover rates and turnover intention, employees’ perception of empowerment in the workplace, stress and burnout, resources available to employees, and employee health (Bregenzer et al., 2020; Jiménez et al., 2017; Vidman et al., 2020). Leadership style and behavior sets the stage for employee-leadership dynamics and how communication will occur. According to Bregenzer et al. (2020), communication techniques and listening skills of leadership play an important role in employee satisfaction, employee retention and turnover rate, and employee commitment to the organization. Good communication and listening skills are important because they create a mutual sense of respect and trust between leadership and employees as it sponsors an environment rooted in mutual appreciation, lack of judgement, and increased relatedness to both leadership and the organization. Additionally, quality leadership provides the resources and support for employees to effectively manage workplace stressors and promote healthy work conditions including a healthy workload, fairness in the workplace, and a sense of community inclusive of leadership and employees, improving employee satisfaction and reducing risks of turnover and burnout (Bregenzer et al., 2020; Jiménez et al., 2017). There is also the importance of management promoting health in the workplace via self-care and being perceptive of and attentive to the needs of those employees working beneath them (Jiménez et al., 2017).
Secondly, different leadership styles and approaches can affect the workplace environment and employee performance differently (Vidman et al., 2020). Two common perspectives of leadership are that it is relationship-based (that the attributes and behavior of leadership influence the relationships formed with employees and that those relationships are important to the work environment) or contextual (that the context of the environment as well as leadership style shape the work environment, relationships, and communication dynamics between employees and leadership). Ultimately, leadership in healthcare must incorporate all perspectives and be uniquely based on the context and needs of social work or healthcare – rooted in an environment of caring – instead of based on the business model of corporations (Vidman et al., 2020). Also, leadership in healthcare must be able to be trustworthy, knowledgeable, and proactive while communicating with respect, being supportive without interrupting or disrupting workflow, and being competent in their role.
Personal Experiences with Leadership Behavior
One of my favorite managers to work with was at a Kaiser Permanente facility in the Los Angeles area. The best way I can describe him is that he practices what he preaches. He holds his employees, both staff and travelers, to a high standard and himself as well. He manages without micromanaging, advocates for and supports staff, and will be one of the first people to help out on the unit and answer call lights. Also, and very importantly, he is fair and communicates with respect with all staff. For example, I was having a rough shift and had one patient that I felt was unstable compared to the previous day, but I could not get the physician to take the situation seriously even after the family expressed concern as well. I ultimately had to call a rapid response for the patient and both the respiratory therapist and physician, both whom I had been speaking with throughout the shift regarding this patient, seemed annoyed and asked why I called the rapid response. The manager overheard the interaction and advocated for the patient and myself, even speaking directly with the rapid response nurse separately to push for more interventions to be done. The patient was stabilized more and was taken for more testing. Unfortunately, when I returned the next day, I found out that the patient coded in the middle of the night and died; the manager praised me for being perceptive to the needs of the patient, for handling the situation well, and that the family appreciated the care I provided the patient.
I believe that the support this manager provided and how well they communicated with staff created a great work environment. The unit could be difficult at times due to patient acuity and staffing but this manager, and all the other members of leadership for the unit, led with fairness, compassion, and competence in their positions. Their management style made the unit a great place to work despite any other stressors. As a result of how well leadership performs on that unit, many travel nurses stay for extended contracts and eventually return to work again if they leave to travel to other areas. This is one of the few hospitals I look forward to working at again and the management of that unit play a significant part in that decision.
Leadership Theories in Practice
Healthcare is similar to other organizations, needing strong leadership to achieve its objectives. The skills of a successful leader should include the capacity to comprehend, inspire, cooperate, and respect their team members. They should also know how to bring out the best in people as they work together. Good company operations require effective leadership, but this does not always come naturally, but people can be taught to become leaders (Moore Foundation, n.d.). It is crucial to understand the many leadership theories and how they affect management and different leadership styles (WGU, 2020). The focus of leadership theories is on the traits and behaviors that people may acquire to improve their leadership capacity, which impacts the performance of an organization, as well as how and why certain people become leaders. There are several perspectives on what makes a successful leader, how leadership functions, and what traits influencers possess. The effectiveness of a manager’s leadership style should vary depending on the team they oversee and the sector they operate in. Unfortunately, implementing leadership theory is not always straightforward (Moore Foundation, n.d.).
Key Insights Evaluating Impact of Leadership Behaviors
This study explores the relationship between leadership, employee turnover, work happiness, and health. It was discovered that the effects of different leadership ideologies on output, job satisfaction, and health varied. Performance is impacted by task-oriented leadership, whereas relation-oriented leadership encourages job satisfaction. Relational leadership is a sort of leadership that is employed in the healthcare sector. Setting an example for followers, providing work meaning and challenge, encouraging creativity and original problem-solving, paying attention to each follower’s needs, and providing coaching and mentoring are all examples of transformational leadership. This has been shown to raise the level of care offered in the healthcare sector and employee happiness and well-being (Vidman & Stromberg, (2020).
This article shows that transformational leadership empowers individuals to create and affect change via flexibility, employee ownership, business culture, and authenticity. Transformational leaders inspire and excite their people without micromanaging, empowering them to think creatively and solve challenges. The essential components of transformative leadership are idealized influence, trust, transparency, respect, inspirational motivation, and individual consideration. For employees to feel connected to and committed to the organization’s goal and to be able to contribute to the business, leaders foster an environment that welcomes expansion and supports digital change. They also customize their coaching and mentoring to help employees achieve their goals (White, 2022).
Leader Behaviors and Skills Practice
P.J. is a former nursing leader who displayed bureaucratic, autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, and charismatic leadership at various times. The transformative leadership style stood out most, depending on the project and the circumstances. Transformational leaders can inspire and encourage their team members to take actions that cause significant change, resulting in a productive workforce committed to a company’s long-term success. (CFI Team, 2022). P.J.’s leadership style matches this description.
P.J. was always eager to assist, a good listener, and a creative problem-solver. P.J. inspired and motivated the team to exceed their comfort zones and accomplish far more. She continually inspires the team to keep up the fantastic job since she demands the best of her staff. She would describe the aims, the timeline, and the objectives for every new project. She would constantly demonstrate our success, for example, in keeping patients safe and preventing falls during the current month.
P.J. always gives examples of why something is essential and stresses the need to work as a team to accomplish goals. She was reliable because of her emotional intelligence, empathy, and effective communication abilities. When P.J. would advise the team to further our education or obtain a certification, she would say that team should empower themselves because nurses are leaders, which is what leaders do. She was kind and considerate of others, calling workers to see how they were doing when they weren’t feeling well. No matter how little the issue, she was an attentive listener who gave her full attention while also encouraging and offering guidance. She often gave motivating speeches about the terrific team the staff was in since she was highly driven. She communicates well and speaks up for herself, her team, and the patients. She was dependable, and accepted responsibility for her actions; she always followed through on her commitments. She would constantly make plans in advance and take steps to stop issues before they started. She would show that she has solid problem-solving abilities by demonstrating that occasionally when there is a dispute on the team, she would handle it professionally. She motivates the team members to keep raising the bar and accomplish feats they never imagined possible. She continually inspires the team to keep up the fantastic job since she demands the best of her staff.
Effectiveness of Skills and Impact on the Workplace
These skills such as adaptability, active listener, motivation, and emotional intelligence possessed by transformational leaders are effective because those who follow this leadership path learn to handle various situations in a company to increase productivity by enhancing team members’ self-efficiency, and these leadership abilities are successful. It also promotes the development, health, and morale of employees. This leadership style depends on matching an employee’s talents, interests, and motivations to the team’s and organization’s goals to motivate them to accomplish their own (Indeed, 2022).
Improvements in organizational culture, structural empowerment, greater employee retention, stability, and cost-effective turnover have all been associated with transformational leadership in nursing units. Moreover, it supports community-based prevention programs and community health education activities and increases healthcare equity. It also encourages connection development and collaboration. It promotes engagement and work satisfaction, which elevate productivity, improves treatment quality, and improve patient health and safety (TAMIU, 2021).
According to (Brown, 2019), the transformational theory emphasizes the importance of vision, inspiration, and motivation in effective leadership. Transformational leaders can inspire and motivate their team members to achieve great things and are known for their ability to create a compelling vision of the future. I have experienced the utilization of transformational leadership through my job at Southern Ohio Medical Center, working in their ICU. SOMC is known for being the only magnet-status hospital in our local area. They prioritize their nurses and how we are felt, seen, and heard. Our nurse managers often do team meetings where we can give input on new equipment introduced and our staffing ratios and are rewarded regularly with free lunch at the hospital for both day and night shifts. They also participated in competitive pay rates and gave their nurses an 11% pay increase in 2021. According to (Eliyana, 2019), “An organization with more satisfied employees tends to be more effective and productive. Besides, employees with a high level of satisfaction will have fewer turnovers.” This is true from personal experiences with management practicing the transformational leadership theory.
Behavioral theory is another formal leadership theory that focuses on the actions and behaviors of leaders rather than their inherent traits (March 2021). According to (Khan et al., 2020), Organizational culture is the process of the behaviors, values, beliefs, and habits that direct individuals’ behaviors in an organization. Effective leadership can be learned through training and practice, and specific behaviors are associated with successful leadership, such as delegating tasks, providing feedback, and setting goals. I also have had personal experience with management using this type of formal leadership. Our healthcare facility is extensive on “see one, do one, teach one.” This not only “forces” us to learn but also allows for a more organized approach to providing care to our patients. I need to work for an organization that prioritizes positive organizational culture for its providers and staff.
Overall utilizing a form of formal leadership is essential, but it can vary on which practice is best depending on what employees respond to best with their job.
Leadership Theories
There are many different leadership theories. They can be broken down into a few main types- traditional management theories, environment and worker needs theories, behavioral and worker style theories, situation and constituent relationship theories, and transformational leadership (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Each subtype has many different approaches. Transformational leadership is made up of four factors: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Wysocki et al.,2020). According to Harvard Business Review (2016), the top quality of a leader is high ethical and moral standards, the third being communicating clear expectations. This is vital to creating an environment of safety and trust in the workplace.
Leadership Theories in Action
I am a supervisor in my unit and directly report to Julie. Julie has a phenomenal ability to create organizational change and provide growth opportunities. She does this by giving leadership opportunities to new ones, providing opportunities for certification paid for by the company, facilitating getting the materials and setting up courses, and looking for ways to ease the burden on staff nurses organization-wide. She asks many questions and urges staff to put aside their preconceived notions and “stay curious.” She is a truly transformational leader.
A healthy work environment is essential for a productive work place and this starts with leadership. The behaviors of leadership directly affects the quality of work environments, and the health and well-being of the nursing workforce (Cummings et al., 2018). Not only can good leadership help to create a healthier work environment, but it also helps to retain staff, increase job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and create better patient outcomes. The purpose of this post is to discuss how leadership behaviors can create a healthy work environment, how skills can affect this, and behaviors and skills used in the workplace that impact a healthy work environment.
One key insight from the scholarly articles that I reviewed was, creating an open and respectful interaction between leaders and staff, helps to develop trust which contributes to a healthy work environment (Vidman & Strömberg, 2020). Having this open relationship allows employees to feel like they are able to communicate with leadership about concerns or suggestions. Another key insight is providing feedback, from the leaders and the staff member. It is important that the employee gives leadership feedback about what is and isn’t working on the unit, leaders can not fix something that they are not aware is broken. The same goes for leadership, they should be giving employee feedback on performance and offer support were needed.
In my current department, we have leaders that help to create a healthy work environment. One thing leadership does in my department is quarterly check-in’s, this gives employees an opportunity to communicate things that are and are not working, discuss their performance and career goals, and receive feedback. This is effective and impactful on the department because it allows for open communication and feedback on both ends which leads to a healthy environment for all. Another action my department uses is quarterly meetings, this is another opportunity for staff to discuss things that need changed or make suggestions. This is helpful because some may be more inclined to speak up when they are in a group setting and know they will have the support of their co-workers. This impacts the work place by again creating a relationship between management and staff that allows for communication and change when needed. Lastly, our leadership creates a healthy work environment by coming out and working with us on the floor when needed. We work in a busy emergency room, when things start to get backed up, they come out and start helping where its needed so we can keep the emergency room flowing. This kind of behavior shows that they are a team player and willing to step in and help when needed.
In conclusion, the skills and behaviors of leadership can positively or negatively affect the work environment. Leaders should give support, removed barriers, give direction, and provide resources to help create a healthy work environment (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Creating a healthy work environment can help to retain staff, increase job satisfaction, and create better patient outcomes. Some things that leaders at my work place do, that impact my work place are, quarterly meetings and check ins, and stepping in when support is needed on the floor. These behaviors and skills positively impact a healthy work environment and creates better relationships between leadership and staff.
The current nursing practices integrate evidence-based decision-making in providing safe and quality patient care. The process involves incorporating the best evidence from research trials, patient values, and preferences with professional experience. Leadership in evidence-based practice includes leaders’ expectations, values, and participatory decision-making. It is important to note that leaders intentionally promote evidence-based practice in clinical settings (Duggan et al., 2015). This discussion post will highlight two critical insights from scholarly resources about the role of leadership in enhancing evidence-based practice. It will also describe a leader using the skills and behaviors observed in a clinical setting, their effectiveness, and their impact in the workplace.
Harvey et al. (2020), in their article titled ‘Leadership for evidence-based practice—Enforcing or enabling implementation?’ argued that leadership is a crucial determinant in the successful implementation of evidence-based practice in nursing. Hu and Gifford (2018), in their article’ Leadership behaviors play a significant role in implementing evidence‐based practice,’ had sentiments similar to Harvey et al. (2020). Hu and Gifford (2018) asserted that leadership behaviors play a role in successes and failures experienced in evidence-based practice implementation. The learning from the two resources is that success in evidence-based application in clinical settings depends on leadership skills, behaviors, and styles leaders adopt.
From personal experience, the concept of leadership behaviors was observed in practice in the pediatric department. The unit introduced the machine learning strategy to improve predictions of preterm infant survival. The strategy’s effectiveness is supported by research findings comparing it to logistic models (Podda et al., 2018). The evidence-based practice strategy required changes to care delivery in the pediatric unit. The nurse leader in charge of implementation employed servant leadership to influence fellow nurses to adopt the new care approach. Examples of initiatives by the nurse manager included enrollment in training to understand how to use machine learning and data interpretation. The leader’s behavior motivated other nurses to learn, and the technology was adopted in routine care with time. The leadership approach was practical because the leader chose to be a role model, which helped to overcome change resistance by other nurses. It is usual for nurses to resist change because of the anticipated impact on their behavior and beliefs (Cho et al., 2021). Implementing a machine learning strategy enhanced neonatal care because the clinicians detected poor outcomes in time to apply corrective measures. Therefore, the incidence of preventable deaths decreased among preterm neonates.
A review of the scholarly articles confirmed that leadership is essential in successfully delivering patient care in nursing. Nurses should modify their behaviors to influence followers and achieve nursing goals. Further inquiry is necessary to establish the leadership behaviors with a positive influence and those that result in adverse outcomes.
Effective nursing leadership is crucial in all aspects of healthcare. An effective leader can enhance patient care, boosts staff morale, and offer direction through the difficulties of healthcare administration. There are many types of leaders that bring different qualities to their teams. Nurse leaders who are authentic are able to be honest and open in their relationships with individuals to whom they report, as well as those who work for them (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Poor leadership skills can contribute to a high staff turnover rate and contribute to nursing burnout.
Specchia et la., (2021) discuss the leadership styles in detail naming six different types of leadership. The styles of leadership are transactional, laissez-faire, servant, resonant, passive-avoidant, and authentic. I have experienced many of these styles working in nursing. The two types of leaders that I will reference had transformational and passive-avoidant styles of leadership. The leader that made the most impact on me was the one with the transformational approach. Transformational and authentic leaders can foster nurse engagement, improve nurse satisfaction, and reduce nurse burnout, which ultimately promotes patient quality of care and outcomes (Wei et al., 2020). She was a great educator, and mentor, and lead by example. We had several issues within the office and she was able to advocate for her staff and provided great feedback to us on how to fix the issue.
The other type I have experienced was the passive-avoidant style. This type of leadership was not effective at all. This place of employment had a high nurse turnover rate and the culture was severely affected by it. This leader avoided taking responsibility for her actions and would confront coworkers in front of peers. This happened to me on my first day working at this facility. I wasn’t given a proper orientation due to being understaffed so I was a little bit slower than she would have liked. Instead of discussing it with me in private at the end of the shift, she confronted me in front of everyone. She blatantly said, “why are you so slow”? This was my first job in a pre-op/PACU environment and although I knew how to take care of patients safely, I was not getting them out of recovery fast enough for her. This type of leadership ruined the entire culture of this facility. Khajeh (2018) states “The leadership style influences the culture of the organization which, in turn, influences the organizational performance”.
Key Insights
In the ever-changing world of healthcare, effective leadership is vital. Effective leadership gives a healthcare organization a sense of loyalty, shared goals, and increased employee productivity. Two leadership key insights are clear and open communication and approachability. Clear and open communication is a crucial leadership insight because it ensures staff has vital information needed to perform their job duties, promotes a positive work environment with areas for growth, and eliminates inefficiencies. Approachability is a key insight for leadership because it improves relationships and interactions with staff, makes collaborating and networking more effective, and builds a good and trusting relationship with the team members (Al Khajeh, 2018; Broome & Marshall, 2021; Specchia et al., 2021).
Leader and Impact on the Workplace
Doctor (Dr.) Greg Myrick, former George Regional Health System’s Emergency Department (ED) Director, displayed these two key leadership insights: clear and open communication and approachability. During his time as ED director, the ED was fully staffed, and the staff was updated on all changes. He used these two key insights to lead a smooth transition from the old eight-bed ED to the new twelve-bed ED. First, he allowed every ED staff to voice their opinions and input for the new ED setup and must-haves. Then, he performed biweekly and monthly meetings of how the ED move will take place. Everyone had clear directions regarding their job duties during the move and how the patient care flow would be. At the time of the move, everyone was prepared and performed their duties without affecting patient care. His leadership during this time helped the staff and made the transition smooth for patients and the community George Regional serves. Most importantly, the ED staff felt valued, appreciated, and part of a team with Dr. Myrick in charge (Al Khajeh, 2018; Broome & Marshall, 2021; Specchia et al., 2021).
Positive leadership can be transformative for nursing. Having strong leadership is imperative for the future of nursing. According to BRADY GERMAIN and CUMMINGS (2010) the two most important factors in nursing leadership are autonomy and working relationships. Autonomy allows nurses to practice to the full extent of their license, a nurse leader should encourage this and help her nurses feel empowered. Positive working relationships are also important because it empowers nurses and encourages teamwork.
With the different generations now entering the workforce, we must rely on transformational leadership. As stated by STANLEY (2010), “Understanding the different generational groups may allow nursing leaders and managers to consider what drives, motivates or hinders nurses from different generations.” Different generations may respond differently to different leadership styles, which is why we must identify what motivates the current generation and adapt leadership styles to match.
One of my nurse leaders works very well with different generations of workers and understands different motivators. For example, she allows us to work overtime when desired, but doesn’t push for it when it’s not necessary. She leads by example when interacting with providers and patients.