Nursing Leadership Philosophy

Leadership is all about having the right amount of heart and determination to help make a difference in someone’s life. It takes certain qualities to be considered a good leader. A leader should want to help inspire others to make a change and to be the best that they can be. A true leader does not need to feel powerful, instead they empower those around them. Throughout my life I have come across various leaders who have made an impact on my life. It takes a very special person to inspire and touch people’s lives. Leadership is so much deeper than having power and bossing people around.

Management and leadership are two different ways of organising people and although sometimes used interchangeably, they are two different functions. Management has a strong emphasis on order and control, while leadership has a focus on articulating a compelling vision, which both inspires and guides others to follow (Dignam et al., 2012). In this essay I will critique two styles of leadership, authoritarian and situational. In addition to this, the management cycle will be discussed. I will then identify how the newly graduated Registered Nurse and the nursing profession can use these styles to provide quality patient care.

Leadership is encountered in every occupation and in everyday life. In nursing, leadership is not only prevalent; it is crucial to patient care and employee satisfaction. The nurse leader that was interviewed was a nurse at the Newport Hospital in Newport, Washington. This is a small hospital in a rural community. She is a charge nurse in the acute care unit, as well as in charge of leading infection control in the hospital. With these roles comes a lot of responsibility, and tasks that must be completed in a timely manner to create a workflow for the rest of the staff. There is a lot of juggling and balancing everything that is included in all of those positions.

The boss must be careful and narrow down the areas in which improvement is needed and explain why the improvements are needed. When utilizing this method, Sutton suggested that they (bosses) consciously break out of the power bubble by asking for direct input and feedback (as cited in Flora, 2010, p.50). By doing this, nurses are allowed to hold a functioning role in the development of policies. Bass (1985), found that “the transformational leadership factors were more highly correlated with perceived group effectiveness and job satisfaction, and contributed more to individual performance and motivation, than transactional leaders” (as cited in Frankel, 2008, p.23). This type of leader is often found empowering their employees and giving them a sense self worth within the company. Steers (1977) found “commitment improves work performance and reduces absenteeism and turnover which are costly to organizations (as cited in Loke, 2001).

In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also

In today’s rapid changing world, leaders are very pertinent, especially in the field of nursing. Good nursing leaders have the ability to provide direction, facilitate structure to reach goals, and cohesiveness throughout team members. Leader by definition is “someone who uses interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish specific goals” (Sullivan & Decker, 2009, p. 329). On the other hand a manager is different. Their goal is geared toward being responsible and accountable for the goals of the organization. Below is the summary of an interview with L.A. Patient Care Manager of Endoscopy/ Special

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

Leadership is a much broader concept than is management. Although managers should also be leaders, management is focused on the achievement of organizational goals. Leadership, on the other hand occurs whenever one person attempts to influence the behavior of an individual or group (Groher-Murray & Langan, 2011). In order to become a good manager you also have to be a great leader. Leadership is a role not all nurse managers possess. As a nurse manager I would

Leading a health care organization comes with immense responsibility and is not an easy task. Transformational leadership has proven to be an effective leadership style in the nursing profession, demonstrating a clear mission, a commitment to excellence, and the ability to motivate and lead others to higher levels of achievement (Schwartz, Spencer, Wilson, & Wood, 2001). Characteristics and qualities of an effective leader include

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.

Learning is a vital aspect of growth and development of a human being. Humans learn to adapt to new environment and conditions through continuous learning. The healthcare system is an ever-changing world. Healthcare practices have become dynamic throughout ages. Thus more nursing leaders are needed to shape the modern healthcare scenario and provide efficient nursing practice.

Leadership prerequisite acquires the necessity of being proactive and having credibility. Leaders have an obligation to the staff and to the community to cultivate an environment that is transparent in all facets. The role of a leader is to provide an impressive challenge, and invest in the individual to inspire that greatness transpires. Ultimately, an effective leadership is about inspiring a group of individuals to achieve extraordinary things. Although leadership is a job of putting greatness into people, there are a host of characteristics and background experiences that a leader should possess.

The four major components of nursing leadership are decision-making ability, influencing and directing others, facilitating process and relationship building (Paul, Day, & Williams, 2016).Very closely associated with leadership is the concept of management and though many people use the two terms interchangeably, it’s very important to know that leading is one of the key functions of management; the others are planning, organizing and controlling activities to pursue

The concept Leadership is increasingly under analysis as it is a characteristic of the acute care work environment that affects both nurse and patient outcomes. Nursing leadership can have strong implications for how nurses manage their roles as patient care givers in the acute care setting. Nurses have identified that there are certain styles of leadership that interfere with their ability to provide quality patient care (Cook & Leathard, 2004). Working as a nurse leader requires complex skills and competencies that could affect not only staff, but also patients. Leadership module is a part of my Advanced Healthcare Practice (clinical) MSc Nursing program.

Before I started this leadership/management coarse I had no idea what qualities a good leader manager needs to hold. I had no idea a registered nurse was considered a leader/manager. Now that I have reviewed all the chapters in the Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing (Marquis & Huston, 2015) I have a full understanding of how important leadership/management functions play in a nurse’s career. Chapters 12-25 describe roles and functions that are needed for a nurse to become a successful leader/manager. These chapters discussed the roles and functioning of organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.