Discussion: Leadership Theories in Practice
Discussion: Leadership Theories in Practice
Leadership Theories in Practice Sample Paper
Leadership in nursing is critical for effective interactions and delivery of quality care outcomes for patients. Leadership behaviors have an impact on the creation of a healthy workplace environment for nurses. In their systematic review, Specchia et al. (2021) postulate that leadership plays a critical role in healthcare organization’s operations as it affects outcomes for professionals, patients, and work environment. The article asserts that leadership style is critical as it impacts nurse’s job satisfaction. Articles by Cummings et al. (2020), Hooge et al., (2021), and Solbakken et al. (2018) demonstrate the importance of effective leadership in nursing. Two critical insights from these articles in the need for transformational leadership model for nurses to attain better care and caring in nursing leadership. Further, the article by Karkada et al. (2017) discusses the core features of an effective leader in health in general and nursing in particular.
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The articles agree that transformational leadership has positive correlation with different aspects of nursing and healthcare. These include quality of care, caring nursing, better patient outcomes and increased job satisfaction by nurses. Hooge et al. (2021) postulate that nurses must embrace transformational leadership through training and education. The study emphasizes the need to raise awareness among strategic managers concerning the role of transformational leadership in healthcare in enhancing better interactions and job satisfaction among nurses.
Cummings et al. (2021) are categorical that deliberate nursing leadership development will ensure that future nurses are well prepared and equipped to address the challenges of a burdened healthcare system. These insights also mean that nurses must possess certain characteristics to be effective leaders of the future as advanced by Karkada et al. (2017). These characteristics in include cognitive intelligence or ability, stability, confidence, and resilience, conscientiousness or competence and emotional intelligence. For instance, emotional intelligence is essential as it assists leaders to understand the significance and power of their emotions and of others. Emotional intelligence also helps leaders to inspire, support, and influence their staff to get the best out of themselves and become more productive. Leaders develop self-awareness and knowledge to deal with challenges through regulation of their emotions and those of others.
A situation where I have experienced the application of the leadership style, skills and behaviors that lead to increased nurses’ job satisfaction, quality care and better patient outcomes as well as effective interactions among nurses is in my practice where the nurse manager is a transformational leader. The nurse manager has developed effective interventions in the unit that include training of nurses on practicing transformational leadership and caring nursing where all have a duty to work together as unit. The manager discourages the culture of blaming anyone for a mistake and instead insists on correcting the processes to ensure that such errors do not happen again. The manager implores on nurses to follow the laid down protocols when dealing with medication administration, and when caring for patients to ensure that they attain the best care and prevent possible errors.
These skills have been significantly effective as nurses feel a sense of belonging and can present new ideas and express their concerns as well as suggestions (Marshall & Broome, 2017). The nurse manager values feedback from nurses and encourages them to follow the protocols to deliver better care for patients. These skills have had a significant impact in the workplace that include increased job satisfaction, encouragement of teamwork and effective communication. They have also resulted in increased rates of retention as nurses feel supported and can manage shift work, even sometimes working long shifts, because they understand the reasons behind such sacrifices. These skills have been fundamental in improving patient care experience and outcomes. The number of medication errors has declined while nurses with the intention to leave remain at the lowest possibility in the facility than at any other time.
References
Cummings, G. G., Lee, S., Tate, K., Penconek, T., Micaroni, S. P., Paananen, T., & Chatterjee,
- E. (2021). The essentials of nursing leadership: A systematic review of factors and educational interventions influencing nursing leadership. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 115, 103842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103842
Hooge, L. E. B., van Os-Medendorp, H., & Hafsteinsdóttir, T. B. (2021). Is leadership of nurses
associated with nurse-reported quality of care? A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Research in Nursing, 26(1-2), 118-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/17449871209761
Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer
Karkada, S. & Cherian, S. (2017). A Review on Leadership in Nursing. International Journal of
Nursing Research and Practice (IJNRP), 4(1). DOI:10.15509/IJNRP.2017.4.1.347
Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., &
Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1552. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041552
Solbakken, R., Bergdahl, E., Rudolfsson, G., & Bondas, T. (2018). International nursing: caring
in nursing leadership—a meta-ethnography from the nurse leader’s perspective. Nursing administration quarterly, 42(4), E1. DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000314
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A walk through the Business section of any bookstore or a quick Internet search on the topic will reveal a seemingly endless supply of writings on leadership. Formal research literature is also teeming with volumes on the subject.
However, your own observation and experiences may suggest these theories are not always so easily found in practice. Not that the potential isn’t there; current evidence suggests that leadership factors such as emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviors, for example, can be highly effective for leading nurses and organizations.
Yet, how well are these theories put to practice? In this Discussion, you will examine formal leadership theories. You will compare these theories to behaviors you have observed firsthand and discuss their effectiveness in impacting your organization.
To Prepare:
Review the Resources and examine the leadership theories and behaviors introduced.
Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
By Day 3 of Week 4
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.