Applying The Laws Of Leadership

After reading John Maxwell’s “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, I was able to gain a better understanding on the type of leader I want to be for those around me. In this paper I will discuss 5 of the 21 laws that I feel speak to me personally and will describe some of their major points along with how they will help me to becoming a more knowledgeable leader with growth and time. First law, “The Law of Influence – The True Measure of Leadership is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less.” I chose this law for many reasons but, one of the main reasons is because influence in a leader is something that you earn and learn over time. I have had the pleasure of being influenced by many great leaders who have taught me how to become a successful

The intent of a leader is to implement change, instill inspiration, orchestrate collaboration, and empower their followers to go beyond their limitations. Nurses are leaders who strive to improve the overall quality of patient care by leading those around them to participate in the vision of the corporation. He or she must be fully aware of the organization’s philosophy, clearly state its expectations, and possess the ability to develop well-versed and quality leaders (Tinkham, 2013). Every health care organization possesses a vision, a mission statement, and core values that every member functioning under that union must adhere to. Goals, achievements, and adjustments are essential to ensuring that the vision of the organization is being met and evaluated for positive outcomes. However, getting workers to believe and abide by the vision of the facility calls for effective and stimulating leaders. According to Schwartz, Spencer, Wilson, and Woods (2011), “Success in the workplace often is contingent on a leader’s ability to effect positive change and inspire others to higher levels of achievement” (p. 737).

Using transformational leadership in nursing practice can increase morale, motivation, and enhance job performance, which can ultimately improve patient outcomes and quality of care. The purpose of this paper is to explain what exactly transformational leadership is, and how it can be used by nurse leaders within a health care setting to inspire positive change within the working environment to improve patient quality of patient care and improve job performance.

Throughout the nursing industry, both managers and bedside nurses utilize their strengths and skills as transformational leaders to develop a strong sense of camaraderie that bases its success through teamwork and development of personal attributes. As the role of the nursing manager, individuals must inspire their employees to share the same vision as they do on behalf of the organizational goals. Givens (2008) explains how transformational leadership is shown when leaders encourage followers to think outside of the box, thus motivating them to perform at higher levels by becoming more involved in their work and developing a sense of commitment to the organization (p. 11). This not only pertains to the nurse manager but to lower level employees as well. Even though lower level employees, such as a certified nursing assistant, do not own a title that gives them authority, each employee can still practice leadership skills

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership was written by John C. Maxwell, who is an author, speaker, and a pastor. I found his take on leadership to be interesting, as he believed that leadership is leadership, no matter what context. The laws are similar no matter what realm they will be applied in. He successfully demonstrated how his laws apply in leadership in all forms, whether it is in church or in politics, in history or in sports.

I bet when you think of the word law the first thing that comes to your mind is police officers, correctional facilities or lawyers, but in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell, he thinks outside the box by explaining what the law means to him in 21 steps that make it impossible to deny on what understanding and becoming a leader in law means. Police administration refers to the organization and management of policing. It can refer to how the policing function is organized at the national or societal level or more specifically to how individual police agencies and units are organized and managed. Laws are the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and

Transformational leadership. Burns (1978) is recognized as one of the earliest theorist on transformational leadership, who introduced transformational leadership over 30 years ago. Transformational leaders are perceived as leaders who uplift their employee morale, subsequently uplifting the entire organizational. Transformational leaders are known by their capacity to inspire followers to forgo self-interests in achieving superior results for the organization (Clawson, 2006). Avolio and Yammarino (2002) shared Bass’s explanation of transformational leadership as leaders who act as agents of change that stimulate, and transform followers’ attitudes, beliefs, and motivate from lower to higher level of arousal.

Overlooking the importance of mentors, limiting possibilities, refusing high-profile assignments, ignoring the importance of network relationships, failing to define one’s brand, and not soliciting enough feedback— these are some of the many mistakes Dr. Lois P. Frankel (2014) warns against in her latest revision of Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office (Nice Girls). These mistakes also represent actions that may hinder a nursing manager, especially a woman, from becoming a transformational leader. This paper will examine Frankel’s approach to women in the workplace and how it relates to transformational leadership theory, touching on the theory’s background and major concepts, functions in nursing practice, applicability to personal practice, and its effects on personal growth.

He defined transformational leadership “as superior leadership performance – occur when leaders broaden and elevate the interest of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purpose and mission of the group, and when they stir their employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of group” (Bass, 1990). Bass (1995) gave following characteristics to transformational leaders (Figure 1):

Transformational leadership is an emerging type of leadership that is more adaptable the changing environment within healthcare and has the ability to guide and empower staff to embrace the changes (Finkelman, 2012). This type of leadership is especially important today with many nurses felling unsatisfied, or unappreciated. In order to have a successful organization, it must first have the ability to retain nurses through job satisfaction. Transformational leaders have the ability to encourage staff members to embrace the changes to come, by promoting such things as team work, and recognition of hard work done by staff members (Smith, 2011). Having the ability to recognize staffing needs along with the compassion to try and meet those needs while maintaining the functionality of the organization, is the key to future

“Leadership is influencing others by your character, humility, and example. It is recognizable when others follow in word and deed without obligation or coercion”.( Sonny Newman, president of contract manufacturer EE Technologies)

Burns (1978) defined a transformational leader as “one who raises the followers’ level of consciousness about the importance and values of desired outcomes and the methods of reaching those outcomes” (p.141). According to Warrillow (2012) Transformational leadership theory is all about leadership that creates positive change in the followers whereby they take care of each other’s interests and act in the interests of the group as whole. By providing inspirational motivation to followers, it develops a less stressful environment and inspires them by taking individual responsibilities, challenges and positive view for the goals to achieve. It was described by Bass & Riggio (2006) Enthusiasm and optimism are key characteristics of inspirational motivation. Transformational leadership major focus is to provide coaching, individual attention and personal assistance to fulfill their needs and reaching their

Often times people mistake a leader for a manager. A true leader would inspire change and empower others towards goal achievement, where as a manager would be more concerned with day to day operations. Most people strive to become a great leader, work even harder to refine and maintain it, as well as leave a lasting legacy for others. To be differentiated as a leader vs. manager is a very prestigious recognition and makes all the work and effort spent worth it in the end. John C. Maxwell exemplifies all the great qualities of a leader in his "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership".

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C Maxwell, cleverly demonstrates the different concepts that are required to create effective leaders. Using historical examples and examples from globally recognised businesses, along with personal anecdotes from his personal experience as both a pastor and a leadership consultant. Throughout the book, Maxwell has provided detailed descriptions about what makes a good leader, as well as a guide to measure your personal attributes in each area. To effectively summarise the key concepts outlined throughout the 21 laws I have split them into three main groups, investing in yourself, investing in others and investing in the future.

**TransformationTransformational leadership. Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) provided much of the foundational research on transactional and transformational leadership theory that led to advancements in guidelines for leaders. Although Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) agree on the characteristics for both theories, there iswas one point of difference. The one area where a difference exists is that Burns (1978) offered that translational and transformational theory were two separate approaches that existedexist on opposite ends of the spectrum. whereas Bass (1985) argued that transactional leadership was the starting point for a leader moving to a transformational approach. Before a more in-depth review is provided for these alternative views, it is first necessary to provide further background information on transformational leadership. Transformational leadership theory is based upon four specific constructs; charismatic or idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The four constructs serve the leader’s attempt to connect with the follower at a higher level of interest (Alabduljader, 2012; Groves & LaRocca, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013; Washington et al., 2014).