Transactional Leadership In Nursing Essay

Professional nurses must deliver leadership with communication and collaborative skills, ethical and legal principles, integrity, and commitment to provide excellent quality patient care. True leadership is beyond the position of being a manager (Grossman & Valiga 2012). In transformational leadership, a nurse individualizes

Leadership is not a word that is uncommon in today’s society. We hear this term in the media, on TV shows, and in our everyday lives. However, the idea of leadership and the different definitions of types of leaders are less understood. In this paper, an examination of transformational leadership is discussed. This paper also delves into transformational leadership in nursing and how learning about leadership has supported personal growth for me now and in future practice.

In today’s healthcare system, effective leadership is essential to improving and reaching organizational outcomes. A leader is someone with the ability to influence others but, an effective leader uses positive strategies to inspire employees to work towards the same goal. Leadership in nursing requires a constant effort to motivate others to become part of the organizational transformation. This can be achieved using a transformational leadership style with a focus on communication, motivation, and empowerment.

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).

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

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.

Nurse leaders are faced with issues or problems on a daily basis that are often expected and sometimes unexpected. It “comes with the territory” so to speak. If there were no issues to solve or hurdles to overcome the necessity of designating a leader would not seem quite as important. Nurse leaders can tackle issues that occur in their work environment using nursing theory to guide them. Nursing theory provides a framework that nurse leaders can use to implement interventions or changes to positively impact the staff they lead. This framework of the theory will set the standards for achieving the desired outcomes and is based on knowledge that is gleaned from practice and/or research.

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.

Effective leadership is an important quality to create a functional workplace environment. When it comes to the healthcare system, specifically nursing, transformational leadership is the most qualified form. Its main principles inspire confidence, personal and organizational goals, innovation and support. (Hamstra, Van Ypern, Wisse, & Sassenburg, 2014). It is very effective at enhancing the client care and professional performance of the nurse leader’s followers. (Doody & Doody, 2012). Transformational leadership has many unique benefits, that other forms of

This paper will describe transformational leadership and its effectiveness in nursing management. Transformational leadership is a newer leadership style that has just recently been implemented amongst managers and peers. Transformational leadership is effective when dealing with conflict. This paper will identify ways that transformational leadership can be used.

Leadership styles can greatly affect the success of a department and organization. This success leads to improved employee satisfaction and better patient outcomes. There are different leadership styles present in the nursing profession and they have changed and evolved over the years. Transformational leadership has been shown to increase employee satisfaction, engage staff members, and increase commitment to organization (Schwartz, Spencer, Wilson, & Wood, 2011). Studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between transformational leadership and improved patient outcomes (Wong & Cummings, 2007). Individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation,

Healthcare professionals work together to develop interdisciplinary care for patients. The director oversees the management of the case managers and in turn, the case managers supervise the work of both licensed and vocational nurses and aids. Leadership style is associated with reduced levels of occupational stress (Clegg, A., 2001). Furthermore, transformational leadership has been proven to provide “several positive organizational outcomes in nursing (job satisfaction, productivity, etc.) and has already been positively linked to safety performance “(Lievens, I., Vlerick, P. ,2014). Transformational Leadership, according to the American Association

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

Transactional and transformational leadership differ. Ingram (2016) states “Different managers employ distinctly different management styles, ranging from relatively hands-off, facilitative styles to autocratic, micromanaging styles. Managers can also employ different motivational strategies and techniques to boost employee performance or accomplish internal change. Transformational and transactional leadership are polar opposites when it comes to the underlying theories of management and motivation. Understanding the difference between transformational and transactional leadership is crucial for anyone pursuing a career in management.” (Ingram, 2016). When I was a manager, I had to make sure my store operated properly and maintain sales. Sometimes I would hold contest for my workers to motivate them, Ingram (2016) states “Transactional leadership styles are more concerned with maintaining the normal flow of operations. Transactional leadership can be described as "keeping the ship afloat." Transactional leaders