When talking about leadership, one cannot help but wonder how it relates to nursing. If the focus of nursing should be caring for patients who are either well or ill, then why is there a need to tackle leadership? Unlike before, today’s health care environment is complex, rapid and continuously changing. This development prompts an upcoming danger to the nurse’s skills, identity and ability to coordinate with other health care professionals. On the other hand, this also makes nurses challenge their own into taking the lead, developing goals, consolidating a purpose and moving towards an attainable vision. A nurse leader then needs to combine clinical, administrative, financial and operational skills to effectively solve various clinical …show more content…
There are three known styles of leadership namely autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. In simple terms, autocratic means that only the leader makes the decision. In democratic the people most of the time has a say on the decision. And in laissez faire the decision making is given to the members directly, the leader is minimally involve in the process. The relationship of leadership to power is unmistakable. Power is the key component in leadership (Feldman, 2008). It is the ability to influence the other party’s behavior. The formal aspect of power is authority. One aspect of power in leadership is the distinction made between the exercise of power to advance a collective purpose and power to self advancement. True power is shared and given freely. Even the most memorable leaders are empowering in a sense that their power is about influence, confluence and synergy versus domination, control or willfulness (Feldman, 2008). Empowerment is one of the many roles a leader assumes. The other roles that a leader assumes include creating a climate that promotes followership in response to authority, recognizing the dual pyramid of power that exists between the organization and its employees, and using a powerful persona to increase respect and decrease fear in subordinates. Previous theories of leadership
The future of nursing will be seen as nurses being full partners in the healthcare setting. Nurses need to be ready to step up to the plate and answer the call to be leaders. Leadership skills can be learned in the classroom setting as well as through mentors. Nurses have been on the “front-line” for many years and have had such close contact with patients and their care that they have so much to offer to committees and boards that are making the decisions. It is a new responsibility for the nurse to accept the challenge of leadership that many may not have considered when they were pursuing their education, but whether leadership is a natural characteristic or the hardest thing for a nurse to do, we must step into this new role for the goals of the IOM report to be met (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, 2011). Nurses need to develop a level of comfort in their career to be proactive in creating new policies, brainstorming ideas to improve the field, and get involved in committees
Effective nurse leaders are often flexible and are able to change style of leadership to suit changing circumstances. They ensure that their people are regularly being challenged to grow and learn. Nurses show leadership by giving feedback and empowering others to bring out their best and the opportunity to grow. I believe that good leaders help people to see that what they do makes a difference. Nurse further their education to expand and gain knowledge so they can render excellent quality care that patients deserve. Also, the leaders would also help other nurses to work as a team to help the facility run to deliver high-quality care. A leader, “should think and talk about future trends that will affect the team's work, and make sure you communicate your vision to your team regularly” (Pearce, 2007, p. 25). I vision a leader as someone who can move others in achieving their goals and mission. For instance, our nurse supervisor addresses the
Leaders complain that cutting-edge communication technology often takes away time needed to think and reflect on decisions. At the touch of a finger questions and answers can be sent, reports can be generated and one-on-one communication can be established virtually anywhere in the world. Perhaps what these leaders are really saying is that they are resisting change. Technology is here to stay and leaders have to get on board and become proficient in it’s use because many of the people that are being led are very proficient in the latest I pads, IPods, cell phones, email, Skype, and many other forms of communication. If a leader is being pounded with so many messages that the thought process is being impaired, I suggest turning off your I Pad and taking time out to speak with Jesus, lest we allow anything or anybody to separate us from hearing and understanding what Jesus intends for us to do.
Cultivating the leaders of today and tomorrow will be indispensable to the execution of the impressive objectives delineated for the health service (NHS Scotland 2004). Leadership in nursing involves an amalgamation of clinical, academic, executive and political facets. Hence, there is the contingency for nurses to be leaders at the bedside, in universities, in the boardroom and in a political capacity (Gallagher and Tschudin 2010). The clinical nurse leader position is an emergent dynamism as health care endeavours to cope with the challenges of today’s intricacy and result orientation. (Gerard, Grossman and Godfrey). Nursing leadership is critical for effective practice as nurses emblematise the greatest discipline in health care (Sullivan and Garland 2010). Additionally, leadership in nursing has been established as a cost-effectual approach to enhance patient outcomes in times of constrained monetary reserves, when leaders can administer direction, impel change and embolden others (Murphy 2009).
Not all nurses go into the profession with leadership ideas. The nursing profession must produce leaders throughout the health care system. Leaders must function as workers, and administrators with leadership qualities, while still meeting their budgets and running effective units with high functioning and happy staff members. They need to trouble shoot necessary and work with the medical faculty while pleasing their staff and the administers.
From your perspective, based on the video and articles for this activity, how did GE
The purpose of this paper is to address and identify the best possible practice of nurse leaders in the nursing arena. When considering effective leaders in the nursing field nurses must acquire leadership skills in order to meet the steep demands of the positions held as advanced practitioners. The healthcare industry has mainly focused on meeting the continuing education requirements to keep advanced certifications of nurse leaders however an effective leader who is faced with a plethora of complex leadership challenges will focus on enhancing their personal arsenal of leadership techniques through seeking leadership development opportunities catered to the provision of safe and effective care for patients and their staff. Through the
Leadership is a highly important part of any organization but it is essential in the health care setting. The registered nurse (RN) is required to act as a leader in many situations, whether in an official capacity or non-official capacity. In addition, effective leadership demonstrates reliability in performance; it produces long-term remunerations for those involved, either in the recipient of care or in the delivery of care (Makaroff et al. 2014). In the healthcare setting it becomes highly relevant for the
Leaders are often called upon to be innovative and flexible, able to be inventive in an unpredictable environment (Nibley, 1987), which makes talented leaders a tremendous asset to the nursing field, where human behavior can alter from what is typically considered to be the norm. Effective leaders should be able to lead not only others, but themselves too. Additionally, leaders who solicit successful input from others, and develop coalitions through teamwork to achieve results (Kelly & Crawford, 2013). Some head nurses are tasked with being both a leader and a manager, which can become troublesome if an established leadership style has not been learned and mastered (Sorensen, Delmar, & Pedersen, 2011). Being able to navigate the responsibilities of both a leader and a manager, working with doctors, fellow nurses, and patients, in a cohesive manner can be challenging. While the evaluation of leadership styles and the importance of effective leadership in a healthcare setting in the current paper is being evaluated through the view of a newly graduated nursing student, it is important to keep the roles of a head nurse in mind due to potential career goals. Doing such also helps to understand the stresses that the head nurses are under as they fulfill the roles of nursing and leadership within the department.
Leadership may mean different things to different people, the consensus opinion of experts in this field is that leadership is using power to direct and influence activities of people to achieve set goals or targets. Nursing leadership is all about every nurse providing, facilitating and promoting the best healthcare services to client and to the public. Leadership is a shared responsibility. (CNO 2012). The nursing profession need leaders that can build the capacity of nurses through mentoring, coaching, supporting, developing the expertise and management skills of nurses to make a difference to the quality of patient care at all levels of the profession ( McIntyre & McDonald, 2014 ). At the core of every leadership either political or managerial is power and how the leader uses it. While it is practically impossible to lead without power, how the nurse leader uses this power not only determine the leadership style but also the results or outcomes of what is achieved through the process.
All the same, a lot of nurses never realized of becoming a leader. There have been nurses who have leadership qualities in areas of designs, implementations, and evaluations, as well as advocacies” in the current transformation (Cohen, M. & Walker, A. 2010). With this quality they have restructured and reshaped their abilities to function in different areas of health system. It means nurses are using their leadership skills to perform as collaborators with other professionals. There is essence of having competent leaders in health care in other to achieve the goal of creating a change in health care. These leaders are not only at bed side but are also conspicuous at other areas such as executive level and boardrooms. Nurses work together with other experts in different disciplines of health care, and are responsible for submitting their contributions to produce high quality care.
Leadership is shown in many different ways depending on the leadership style one portrays. Nursing clinical leaders also not only have to know how to adequately lead a team, but have the knowledge and skills to do so. I chose an article called Clinical Leadership: A Call to Action that spoke about the essential knowledge and clinical skills that are needed to assume a leadership position. In this paper I am going to summarize the article and then give examples of how I plan to gain and use this information when I assume a leadership role as a nurse.
The role of the nurse leader entails many of the same duties as other nursing staff. The primary focus of the nurse leader is of course, patient care. However, the role of a nurse leader extends far beyond that managing staff in direct care roles. Many people confuse the terms management with leadership, but in practice the implications of these terms differ significantly (Anderson, 2012). The nurse leader must take steps to advance the nursing as a profession and to inspire other team members by serving as a role model. This reflective research will explore the many faces of nurse leadership and the role of the nurse leader as a professional advocate.
In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is “Manager”. A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge, and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as managing an organization. Leader’s posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Leaders do not need to be a manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage.
Nursing is a very complex career that at many times requires one to be a leader. Nurses can be leaders in formal roles and also on the unit during any given shift. Nursing is a career that truly tests the character and attributes of those who choose to enter this career. Leadership in nursing is vital in creating a successful environment for patients. According to Stichler (2006), “effective leadership is essential to transforming organizations into environments that are safe for both patients and staff” (p. 422). Therefore, it is vital that as new nurses start out his or her careers that they learn from great leaders who are already in the profession. There are several great leaders working in the field who have a plethora of